?av 


MEMORIAL 


OF 


Morris  C.  Sutphen,  d.d. 


^rintfO  for  ii3ribatc  (Circulation, 


i^-^^ 


NEW    YORK: 

ROBERT   CARTER   AND    BROTHERS. 

1S76. 


CAMBRIDGE  : 
PRESS     OF    JOHN     WILSON    AND    SON. 


HTHIS  Memorial  of  Dr.  Sutphen  is 
printed  for  the  eyes  of  his  friends 
and  kindred.  In  writing  it,  we  have 
remembered  that  his  modest,  manly 
nature  would  have  recoiled  from  an 
exaggerated  estimate  of  his  life,  his 
character,  and  his  services  to  the  church. 
We  are  conscious  rather  of  failing  to  do 
justice  to  his  merits  than  of  magnifying 
them. 

W.  C.  STITT. 

PlERMONT,    N.  Y. 


MEMORIAL. 


"V/rORRIS  Crater  Sutphen  was 
born  on  the  first  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1836,  in  the  township  of  Bed- 
minster,  Somerset  County,  New  Jersey. 
His  boyhood,  like  that  of  most  boys 
reared  on  a  farm,  was  divided  between 
the  public  school,  country  sports,  and 
helping  in  the  toils  of  farm  work.  After 
the  public  school,  came  private  lessons 
in  Latin,  from  J.  V.  D.  Ayres;  and 
then,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  his  brother 
John  and  himself  began  their  classical 
training  for  college,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  the   Rev.  W.  W.  Blauvelt,   of 


6  MEMORIAL  OF 

Lamington,  New  Jersey.  At  first  they 
reached  their  teacher  on  foot,  across 
the  fields  and  through  the  woods,  a 
daily  conversation  with  Nature  which 
the  young  Morris  transcribed  in  a  com- 
position, read  as  a  school  exercise. 
Afterwards,  when  they  were  making 
five  trips  a  week,  they  went  to  school 
on  horseback,  John  in  front  and  jNIorris 
behind,  his  little  legs  quite  too  short  to 
spread  in  a  way  worthy  of  being  called 
a  ^^  straddle."  He  engaged  in  boy's 
sports  with  all  a  boy's  zest.  To  yoke 
and  drive  young  steers,  to  gig  lish,  eels, 
and  lampreys  in  the  brook,  to  swim  in 
the  "  deep  hole,"  to  tap  the  maple-tree, 
and  to  try,  at  least  on  one  occasion,  to 
sail  on  the  brook  in  the  upper  half  of  a 
washing-machine,  was  his  youthful  de- 
light; whilst  his  greatest  dissipation  was 
to  quaff   the  root-beer  of   Aunt  Dean, 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  7 

an  aged  colored  Hebe,  of  the  "  cross- 
roads." A  schoolmate,  the  Rev.  I.  Al- 
styne  Blauvelt,  writes  of  him:  "The 
fish  at  which  he  aimed  the  gig  stood 
the  poorest  chance  of  its  life,  and  the 
young  steers  found  him  the  pluckiest 
and  most  persevering  of  all  the  amateur 
trainers." 

Like  many  other  boys  who  have  be- 
come eminent  scholars,  he  was,  during 
all  the  years  of  his  studies  preparatory 
to  college,  doing  a  great  deal  of  work 
on  the  farm  at  home;  the  two  boys 
together,  according  to  their  father's 
statement,  "  doing  as  much  as  would 
have  been  expected  of  a  hired  man." 
"And  yet,"  says  his  classmate,  Mr. 
Blauvelt,  "  Morris  made  quite  as  rapid 
progress  in  his  studies  as  boys  ordina- 
rily do  who  have  nothing  else  to  oc- 
cupy their  time.  He  was  always  all 
pluck  and  grit  and  energy." 


8  MEMORIAL   OF 

He  was  a  remarkably  correct  and 
conscientious  boy.  He  had  been  guilty 
at  one  time  of  an  act  of  disobedience 
which  many  boys  would  have  regarded 
as  trifling;  yet  his  conscience  was  quick 
to  feel  the  fault,  and  he  came  to  his 
mother  and  confessed  it,  and  himself 
suggested  that  she  should  whip  him 
for  it,  —  "a  height  of  sanctification," 
says  Mr.  Blauvelt,  "which  for  me  was 
unattainable." 

He  was  a  child  of  the  covenant. 
Covenant  faith,  covenant  prayer,  and 
covenant  consecration  had  devoted  him 
from  infancy,  first  to  Christ,  and  then  to 
Christ's  service  in  the  ministry.  Like 
the  child  Samuel,  he  "grew  on,  and 
was  in  favor  both  with  the  Lord  and 
also  with  men."  He  was  trained  by 
Christian  parents  "  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition   of  the    Lord,"     and    could 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  9 

scarcely  tell  when  he  began  to  love 
Christ  or  show  the  fruits  of  a  regener- 
ate heart.  His  profession  of  faith  was 
not  made,  however,  until  August,  1855, 
when  he  connected  himself  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  Lamington, 
New  Jersey.  Though  his  father  —  a 
man  of  rare  excellence  and  intelligence 
—  alwa3^s  commanded  his  warm  affec- 
tion and  respect,  yet  he  ever  spoke  of 
his  mother  as  the  guide  and  inspirer  of 
his  life,  to  whose  prayers  and  counsels 
he  was  indebted,  under  God,  for  all  that 
he  was,  and  for  much  that  he  did. 

At  the  time  of  his  matriculation  in 
Princeton  College,  Aug.  12,  1853,  he 
was  still  very  boyish  in  face  and  fig- 
ure, though  dignified  and  thoughtful  in 
manner.  Short  in  stature,  slight  and 
even  frail  in  bodily  appearance,  with  an 
earnest    fape    and     beautiful     eyes     set 


lO  MEMORIAL   OF 

under  an  open  brow,  "little  Morrie " 
was  a  lad  of  mark  from  the  first.  His 
finished  and  accurate  recitations  put 
him  at  once  by  the  side  of  one  who 
was  in  prophecy,  and  who  was  to  be  in 
the  event  the  first-honor  man  in  the 
class  of  1856.  The  contrast  between  the 
two  in  voice  and  size  and  manner  was 
so  complete  as  to  lift  young  Morris  into 
special  prominence  before  the  class, 
and  to  make  all  long  for  a  treat  which 
the  Professors,  who  saw  the  humor  of 
the  situation,  would  sometimes  give 
them,  —  namely,  the  enjo3'ment  of 
"  Morrie's "  piping  treble  reciting  im- 
mediately after  the  thundering  bass  of 
his  competitor  for  the  first  place;  and 
rounds  of  applause  always  testified  the 
admiration  for  the  accurate  reciter,  and 
entertainment  in  the  fresh  illustration 
he  always  gave  of  the  meaning  of  the 
Latin  phrase,  mulhmt  i7i  parvo. 


MORRIS   CRA  TER  SUTPHEN.  i  I 

The  years  of  academic  life  passed 
on  in  quiet  performance  of  every  duty. 
He  pursued  the  routine  of  studies  with 
steady  persistency,  shrinking  from  no 
task,  disappointing  no  expectation; 
growing  not  only  in  stature  and  wis- 
dom, but  also  in  favor  with  God  and 
man.  He  won  the  respect  and  admira- 
tion and  affection  of  his  classmates  and 
friends,  and  the  very  favorable  notice 
of  ail  the  Faculty.  Writing  of  his  col- 
lege career,  one  of  his  professors  (Rev. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Moffitt)  says:  "There  was 
nothing  about  him  ostentatious.  The 
degree  of  his  manly,  self-possessed 
modesty  was  the  most  remarkable  feat- 
ure of  his  manner.  Even  the  superi- 
ority of  his  scholarship  impressed  itself 
upon  me  slowly.  It  was  only  when, 
recitation  after  recitation,  I  found  my- 
self marking   the    same    quiet,    orderly 


12  MEMORIAL    OF 

lad  with  the  very  highest  number  on 
the  scale,  that  I  was  impressed  with 
the  fact  of  his  uncommon  accuracy." 

Rarely  has  a  student  passed  through 
college  life  with  a  character  more  free 
from  the  tinge  of  any  vice,  or  less  com- 
promised with  the  follies  popularly  sup- 
posed to  beset  the  herding  of  youth  in 
college  walls.  He  graduated  on  the 
last  Wednesday  of  June,  1856,  with 
the  second  honor  in  a  class  large  in 
numbers  and  strong  in  scholarship  and 
abilities. 

Immediately  after  taking  his  degree, 
he  began  teaching  in  the  Academy  of 
Rev.  J.  T.  Owen,  Chestnut  Hill,  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  remained  until  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  3'ear.  On  the  loth 
of  October  he  left  home  to  teach  in  the 
family  of  Col.  James  Hunter,  of  Vir- 
ginia.   He  returned  home  in  July,  1857, 


Af ORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  13 

and  on  the  3d  of  September  entered 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
New  Jersey. 

In  his  seminary  life,  he  evinced  the 
same  high  qualities  as  a  student  which 
had  marked  his  college  career.  With 
his  study-door  generally  locked  against 
intrusion,  and  with  ears  deaf  to  the 
visitor's  knock  in  study  hours,  he  pre- 
pared every  recitation  with  scrupulous 
care,  and  achieved  once  more  the  re- 
spect of  his  professors  and  the  admi- 
ration of  his  fellow-students  for  his 
thoroughness  and  accuracy.  In  April, 
1859,  he  was  elected  to  the  tutorship  of 
mathematics  in  Princeton  College,  and 
in  August  of  the  same  year  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  chair  of  Greek,  performing 
at  the  same  time  all  his  duties  as  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Seminary.  Both  in  College 
and  Seminary  he  was  laying  the  foun- 


14  MEMORIAL   OF 

dation  not  only  of  that  scholarship  for 
which  he  was  subsequently  distin- 
guished, but  also  of  that  devout  piety 
and  earnest  prayerfulness  which  ever 
marked  him  as  a  minister  of  Christ. 
His  native  sweetness  of  disposition  and 
humbleness  of  mind  were  receiving  a 
color  from  that  hand  of  Grace  which 
alone  knows  how  to  "paint  the  lily  and 
adorn  the  rose."  That  his  study  was 
a  house  of  God,  and  even  a  gate  of 
heaven,  was  fully  revealed  in  his  prayers 
in  the  orator}^,  and  his  walk  and  con- 
versation among  his  fellows.  The  ven- 
erable Professor  Charles  Hodge  writes 
of  him  as  follows:  "When  he  was  in 
College,  I  often  heard  of  him  from  his 
professors  as  distinguished  for  his  ami- 
able disposition,  his  exemplary  conduct, 
and  his  superiority  to  most  of  his  fel- 
low-students in  ability.     When   he  en- 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN. 


15 


tered  the  Seminary,  I  of  course  knew 
him  personally,  and  found  that  he  fully 
came  up  to  the  expectations  founded  on 
the  judgment  of  his  college  professors. 
He  stood  among  the  very  lirst  in  the 
Seminary  as  it  regards  character,  talent, 
and  scholarship.  So  far  as  I  know,  he 
was  respected  and  loved  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  very  much  in  proportion 
to  the  intimacy  of  their  acquaintance." 

On  April  14,  1859,  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rah  way, 
and  returned  to  the  Seminary  to  finish 
the  course.  In  January,  i860,  while 
yet  a  student,  he  received  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey. 
After  frequent  correspondence  and 
prayerful  thought  he  declined  the  call. 
On  the  loth  of  March  of  the  same  3'ear, 
he    received    a    call    from    the   Spring- 


1 6  MEMORIAL   OF 

Garden  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  to  be  colleague  with  the 
venerable  Dr.  John  McDowell,  of  holy 
memory.  Although  at  the  same  time 
he  received  solicitations  from  other 
churches  and  the  offer  of  other  situa- 
tions, he  decided  to  go  to  Philadelphia. 
After  a  masterly  examination  before  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  he  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  and  installed 
as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  McDowell  on  the 
first  of  May,  i860. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Eleanor  Brush,  a  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  William  Brush,  of  Bedminster, 
New  Jersey,  —  a  marriage  which  indeed 
"  doubled  his  joys  and  divided  his  sor- 
rows," proving  a  blessing  to  him  in  his 
ministry,  his  study,  his  closet,  and  his 
home ;  for  she  was  a  help-meet  in  all  the 
relations  of  his  life,  public  and  private. 


MORRIS  CRATER   SUTPHEN.  17 

In  a  review  of  his  life  at  this  period, 
Mr.  Sutphen  wrote:  "Surely  the  Lord 
hath  crowned  my  life  thus  far  with  lov- 
ing kindness  and  tender  mercy.  I  would 
here  raise  an  Ebenezer  and  say,  ^  Thus 
far  hath  God  helped  me.' " 

He  was  now  fairly  engaged  in  his 
life-work.  The  delicacy  and  difficulty 
of  his  position  as  colleague  with  the 
venerated  and  beloved  John  McDowell 
were  modified  by  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
choice  not  only  of  the  people,  but  also 
of  the  senior  pastor  himself  We  well 
remember  the  radiant  happiness  of  Dr. 
McDowell's  face  during  the  examination 
of  Mr.  Sutphen  before  the  Presbyter}^, 
and  on  the  occasion  of  his  installation.. 
Under  these  favorable  auspices  he  began 
a  ministry  which,  though  not  free  from 
the  usual  trials  and  burdens  of  the  pas- 
toral office,  was  singularly  happy,  pros- 
2 


1 8  •     MEMORIAL   OF 

perous,  and  blessed  during  the  six  years 
of  its  exercise  in  a  large  city.  System 
in  the  arrangement  of  his  duties  and 
thoroughness  in  their  performance  were 
apparently  a  necessity  of  his  nature. 
He  at  once  took  rank  as  a  preacher 
of  scholarly  resources,  Scriptural  tone, 
theological  acumen,  spiritual  unction, 
and  tender  and  persuasive  oratory. 
Strong  as  he  was  in  the  pulpit,  he  was 
still  stronger  as  a  pastor.  With  a 
dignified  reserve  which  exacted  respect, 
he  blended  a  winsome  sympathy  and 
open  candor,  which  irresistibly  drew 
affection  and  esteem.  He  became  the 
friend  of  each  and  all  of  his  people, 
welcomed  always  in  their  homes,  and 
especially  loved  and  prized  in  times  of 
trouble  and  bereavement  as  a  true  son 
of  consolation.  With  all  these  demands 
upon  him,  he  found  time  to  devote  a  part 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  I  9 

of  each  day  to  the  instruction  of  a 
younger  brother  who  was  looking  for- 
ward to  the  ministry.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  bright  promise  and  earnest 
piety,  and  his  early  death  was  keenly 
felt  by  Mr.  Sutphen. 

On  Feb.  13,  1863,  Dr.  McDowell 
died,  and  Mr.  Sutphen  became  in  name 
as  he  had  long  been  in  fact  the  sole 
pastor  of  the  church.  He  was  ar- 
duous and  even  intense  in  preaching, 
in  prayer,  in  self-discipline  and  self- 
culture,  in  visiting  and  in  study;  and 
impressed  himself  on  his  congregation 
and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  as  a 
man  thoroughly  consecrated  to  his 
Divine  Master  and  that  Master's  cause. 
The  church  grew  in  character,  in  piety, 
in  numbers;  its  light  grew  brighter,  its 
usefulness  increased.  Amons^  the  reso- 
lutions  of  Mr.  Sutphen,  not  only  formed 


20  MEMORIAL    OF 

but  fulfilled  in  this  pastorate,  were  such 
as  these:  ^^ Resolved,  that  I  will  en- 
deavor to  live  more  singly  for  God's 
glory;  that  I  will  cultivate  more 
charity  towards  my  brethren;  that  I 
will  envy  no  brother,  nor  speak  ill  of 
any;  that  by  temperance  in  diet  I  will 
endeavor  to  secure  more  time  and 
vigor  for  Christ's  service;  that  I  will 
endeavor  to  be  before  men  what  I  am. 
So  help  me  God."  So  disciplining, 
himself  and  toiling  with  earnest  zeal  for 
his  people,  it  is  no  wonder  he  won  all 
hearts,  and  grew  steadily  in  reputation 
w^ithin  and  without  his  congregation. 
Years  afterwards,  when  tidings  of 
his  decease  reached  his  Philadelphia 
charge,  as  his  successor  Dr.  Cunning- 
ham has  written,  there  followed  "  a 
profound  impression;  for  his  memory 
here  is  precious,  and  his  name  is  always 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  2  1 

mentioned  with  pleasure."  Letters  of 
condolence  poured  in  from  that  congre- 
gation upon  his  widow,  revealing  the 
strength  and  sincerit}^  of  their  love  for 
him,  which  years  of  separation  had  in 
no  wise  diminished.  One  speaks  of  him 
as  "one  of  the  loveliest  characters,  a 
second  Summerfield."  Another  writes: 
"  His  influence  for  good  was  so  great 
here,  that  eternity  alone  will  reveal  the 
extent  of  it;  he  was  so  unselfish,  so 
loving,  so  sympathizing." 

Of  course,  he  was  becoming  more 
widely  as  well  as  more  favorably  knowm 
and  esteemed  as  the  years  passed  on. 
Another  aged  servant  of  Christ,  Dr. 
McElro}',  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 
Church,  New  York,  began  to  feel  the 
weight  of  years  and  the  need  of  help  in 
his  ministry;  and  the  attention  of  his 
people  was  turned  to  a  man  who   had 


2  2  MEMORIAL   OF 

already  succeeded  so  well  in  the  diffi- 
cult role  of  junior  pastor.  When  over- 
tures were  made  to  Mr.  Sutphen  to 
remove  to  New  York,  he  felt  that  his 
health  demanded  a  change,  and  he  re- 
solved to  accept  a  proffered  call  which 
was  made  on  March  5,  1866.  But  great 
was  the  surprise  and  grief  of  his  people. 
They  generously  offered  to  send  him  to 
Europe  for  rest  and  recreation,  and  to 
make  other  arrano^ements  for  his  com- 
fort  and  relief  But  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  that  it  was  wisest  for  him  to  seek 
relief  in  a  new  field  of  labor.  He  had 
gone  to  a  large  city-charge  directly  from 
the  Seminary,  with  scant  materials  for 
the  heavy  demands  of  a  prominent 
pulpit,  and  his  strength  was  much  im- 
paired by  his  stern  devotion  to  duty  and 
toilsome  attention  to  every  claim  in  his 
pastorate.       After   the    first     shock   'of 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  23 

sorrow,  his  people  yielded  to  his  wishes 
and  consented  to  a  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  relation.  The  following  paper 
expresses  the  feelings  of  the  Session  in 
view  of  the  separation:  — 

^'  With  deep  emotion  and  profound  regret 
this  Session  has  listened  to  the  statement 
made  by  our  beloved  pastor.  It  comes,  an 
unexpected  and  unvyelcome  visitor,  forebod- 
ing days  of  darkness  and  scenes  of  trial. 

"Fresh  from  the  Theological  Seminary, 
with  but  little  pulpit  preparation  in  advance, 
our  3'oung  pastor  entered  upon  his  labors 
among  us  with  a  zeal  and  earnestness  that 
fully  compensated  for  any  lack  of  experi- 
ence. The  health  and  strength  of  our  late 
pastor.  Rev.  J.  McDowell,  D.D.,  soon  after 
the  formation  of  the  co-pastorate,  were  so 
far  impaired  that  the  entire  labor  fell  upon 
the  junior  pastor.  From  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent, both  in  health  and  in  sickness,  he  has 
labored  on  regardless  of  personal  comfort, 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  our  church,  and 
the  cause  of  the  Master. 


24  MEMORIAL    OF 

"The  presentation  of  the  Sacred  Word, 
both  on  the  Sabbath  and  during  the  week, 
has  been  of  such  a  character  as  to  '  feed  the 
flock,'  and  lead  to  its  constant  growth.  Its 
fideHty  has  received  the  seal  of  the  Mas- 
ter's approbation  in  making  it  effectual  to 
conversion. 

"The  interests  of  the  young  have  espe- 
cially enlisted  the  labors  and  sympathies 
of  our  pastor.  Not  only  has  the  Sabbath- 
school  received  his  constant  support,  but 
the  children  in  our  families,  individually, 
have  engaged  his  kindly  notice  and  coun- 
sel. His  sympathies  have  everywhere  been 
drawn  out  by  the  sick  and  the  suffering. 
More  than  any  other  man  we  ever  knew, 
has    he    abounded  in  this  service. 

"All  the  departments  of  our  church  enter- 
prises have  steadily  prospered  during  these 
six  years.  The  attendance  on  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  Word  has  more  than  doubled. 
Our  contributions  to  benevolent  objects, 
though  far  from  what  they  should  be,  have 
shown   a  gratifying    advance  from  year   to 


A/OT^AVS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  25 

year.     The  tone  of  confidence  in  which  all 

speak   who  are  engaged   in  any  sphere  of 

the  work,  shows  a  healthiness  greatly  to  be 

desired. 

"  But  our  work  thus  pleasantly  prosperous 

must  be  interrupted.      He  who  has  been  our 

chosen  leader,  led  as   he   esteems    it   by  a 

sense  of  duty,  asks  us  to  unite  with  him  in 

seeking  a  dissolution  of  these  pleasant  ties. 

In  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  painful  as 

is  the  task,  we  feel  constrained  to  present  no 

bar.     We   will,    therefore,   in  deference  to 

our  pastor's   desire,   most   reluctantly  unite 

in  his  request ;  and  may  the  great  Head  of 

the  Church  go  with  him  wherever  duty  may 

call  him. 

"GILBERT   COMBS, 

"  Clerk  of  Session. 

"Philadelphia,  March  15,  1866." 

The  resolutions  of  the  consrreofation 
(too  lengthy  for  insertion  here)  were 
even  more  tender,  tearful,  appreciative, 
and  affectionate  than  those  just  quoted. 


26  MEMORIAL    OF 

The  commissioners  appointed  to  read 
them  in  the  Presbytery  which  dissolved 
the  pastoral  relation  were  deeply 
moved,  and  the  Presbytery  itself  could 
not  part  with  Mr.  Sutphen  without  the 
following  record  of  its  feeling  :  — 

"The  following  minute  was  adopted  by 
the  Central  Presbyter}',  of  Philadelphia,  at 
the  late  meeting  held  in  Princeton  Church, 
West  Philadelphia,  April  3,  1866  :  — 

"'That  this  Presbytery  in  receiving  Mr. 
Sutphen's  resignation  of  his  congregation, 
and  dismissing  him  to  the  Second  Presby- 
tery of  New  York,  part  with  him  with  feel- 
ings of  deepest  respect  and  most  cordial 
affection. 

"'Coming  to  us  a  young  man  from  the 
studies  of  the  Seminary,  and'  entering  on 
the  co-ordinate  pastorate  of  one  of  our  most 
important  churches,  he  has  proved  himself 
equal  to  every  occasion;  —  a  faithful,  labo- 
rious, affectionate,   and  successful  preacher 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  27 

and     pastor ;     a    systematic,     attentive    and 

useful  presbj^ter,  and  a  lovable  and  loving 

companion  and  friend.     That  in    going    to 

occupy    the    high    position     so     long    and 

successfully  occupied  by  Dr.  J.   McElroy, 

and  formerly  by  Dr.  Mason,  we  will  follow 

him  with  our  best  wishes   for  his  success, 

and  with    earnest  prayers    that    his    labors 

may  be  even  yet   more  highly   recognized 

than  they  have  been  among  us. 

"'Attest. 

'"J.   ADDISON   HENRY, 

"  '  Stated  Clerk  of  Central  Presbytery:  " 

lie  preached  his  farewell  sermon  in 
Philadelphia,  on  the  second  Sabbath  in 
April,  and  the  very  next  Sabbath  began 
his  labors  in  New  York;  on  both  occa- 
sions dispensing  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's   Supper. 

The  location  of  the  Scotch  Presby- 
terian Church  and  the  drift  of  population 
in    New  York  City  gave   occasion    for 


2  8  MEMORIAL    OF 

hard  work  to  keep  up  its  strength  and 
influence.  Yet  Mr.  Sutphen's  zeal  over- 
ran the  boundaries  of  his  congregation, 
and  his  Christian  sympathies  went  out 
to  the  outlying  masses,  who  were  as 
sheep  without  a  shepherd. 

He  persuaded  his  people  to  establish 
a  parochial  Sabbath-school,  and  to  this 
he  gave  time,  strength,  and  toil,  with 
great  enthusiasm;  and  from  this  came  a 
blessing  not  only  to  the  children  and 
adults  instructed  in  it,  but  also  to  the 
church  which  sustained  it.  He  threw 
himself  with  characteristic  ardor  into 
those  occasional  services  which  are  de- 
manded of  city  pastors  on  the  platform, 
in  connection  with  the  reforms  and 
charities  of  the  day.  His  stud}^  was  not 
neglected  for  pretentious  activity,  nor 
was  any  genuine  call  to  "bear  a  hand" 
in  public  work  declined  for  the  attrac- 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  29 

tions  of  the  study.  In  the  second  year 
of  his  New  York  pastorate  he  writes 
to  his  friend,  Rev.  William  Scribner: 
"  I  have  begun  the  New  Year  with 
man}^  new  resolutions.  Oli,  that  God 
would  give  me  grace  to  keep  them  ! 
This  is  my  calendar:  severe  study  for 
at  least  one  hour  each  morning  of  the 
master-pieces  of  the  masters  in  Poetry, 
Philosophy,  Theology,  History,  Homi- 
letics.  Languages.  Expect  to  take 
each  department  for  a  month.     January, 

—  Languages;  Hebrew  and  Greek. 
February,  —  Poetry;    Homer.      March, 

—  Theolog}^ ;  Augustine.  April,  —  Bib- 
lical Histor}^;  Stanley.  IMa}^,  —  Phi- 
losophy; Plato.  June,  —  Homiletics; 
Latin  and  Greek  Pulpit.  July,  —  Po- 
etry; Dante.  August, — Philosophy; 
Bacon.  September, —  Theology;  Tur- 
retine.      October,  —  History;     SchalT. 


30  MEMORIAL   OF 

November,  —  Hdmiletlcs.  December, 
—  Languages.  My  plan  also  includes 
the  reading  of  the  Old  Testament  once 
through  in  English  and  half  through 
in  Hebrew;  and  the  New  Testament 
once  through  in  Greek  and  once  through 
in  English."  Then  follows  a  pro- 
gramme of  the  day's  employments,  as- 
signing to  each  division  its  proper  work 
from  six  o'clock  a.m.  to  eleven  o'clock 
P.M.,  —  not  forgetting  the  hour  to  be 
spent  in  reading  to  his  children,  and  gen- 
erously providing  for  the  outdoor  work 
of  his  pastorate.  Thus  he  extended  his 
studies  and  researches  quite  beyond  the 
immediate  preparation  of  some,  particu- 
lar discourse.  "  This  enriched  his  mind, 
and  saved  him  from  that  poverty  and 
monotonous  sameness  of  discourse 
towards  which  they  tend  who  read 
nothing,    study    nothing,   and   care    for 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  31 

nothing  which  will  not  directly  aid 
them  in  working  up  some  particular 
discourse." 

The  fame  of  his  fidelity  to  duty  and 
zeal  for  souls  and  pulpit  ability  opened 
many  other  doors  of  usefulness  in  the 
early  part  of  his  metropolitan  life.  He 
received  overtures  from  Boston,  San 
Francisco,  Plainfield,  N.J.,  Quincy,  111., 
Albany,  Chicago,  and  Louisville.  Not- 
withstanding trials  inseparable  from  his 
position  as  associate  pastor,  and  pecul- 
iar to  the  church  from  its  geographical 
position,  he  remained  at  his  post,  faith- 
ful to  every  duty.  The  toils  of  the 
study  and  the  field  began  to  show  them- 
selves upon  his  constitution,  and  fears 
were  entertained  at  this  time  by 
watchful  friends  that  he  was  straining 
his  strength  beyond  his  power  of  en- 
durance.     In    1868  he  took  a  summer 


32  MEMORIAL    OF 

trip  to  Niagara  and  Montreal,  and 
immediately  thereafter  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  by  which  he  was  greatly 
benefited.  Of  these  tours  he  wrote  a 
graphic  account  for  the  columns  of  the 
"  Philadelphia  Presbyterian;  "  of  which 
paper  he  had  been  the  regular  New  York 
correspondent,  furnishing  weekly  letters 
remarkable  for  their  grasp  of  public 
questions  and  their  bright  and  sketchy 
style. 

In  the  summer  of  1869  his  health 
again  required  immediate  attention,  and 
for  rest  and  recreation  his  congregation 
generously  sent  him  abroad.  He  visited 
Ireland,  Scotland,  England,  France, 
Switzerland,  Upper  Italy,  Rhenish  Ger- 
man}^, Holland,  and  Belgium,  and  went 
as  far  south  as  Milan.  During  most  of 
the  time  he  travelled  in  company  with 
a  number  of  American  ministers,  the}^ 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.         33 

generally  leaving  it  to  him  to  sketch  out 
and  decide  the  route  of  travel.  Dr. 
R.  W.  Clark,  of  Albany,  says  of  him: 
"  I  am  free  to  say  that  he  w^as  decidedly 
the  best  and  most  accomplished  travel- 
ling companion  that  I  met  with  in  all 
Europe.  His  accurate  and  general  in- 
formation, his  uniform  courtesy,  and  his 
pure  Christian  kindness  won  my  admi- 
ration and  affection.  I  shall  ever  think 
of  him  with  delight  and  gratitude." 

He  returned  in  September  invigorated 
by  the  tour,  and  full  of  fresh  hope  of 
protracted  service  in  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard. "  It  was  my  earnest  prayer,"  he 
wrote,  "  as  I  left  the  Old  World,  that  I 
might  leave  behind  every  thing  which 
exalted  itself  against  God;  in  a  word, 
"^  the  old  man.'  " 

His  joint  ministry  with  Dr.  McElroy 
lasted  five  years.      His   personal  rela- 
3 


34  MEMORIAL  OF 

tions  with  this  eminent  servant  of  God, 
as  they  had  been  with  Dr.  McDow^ell, 
were  of  the  tenderest  kind.  Both  loved 
him  as  a  son,  and  he  gave  to  them  the 
reverence  and  respect  due  to  a  father. 
In  June,  1871,  the  aged  pastor  became 
^^  Pastor  Emeritus,"  and  the  entire  charge 
was  devolved  on  Mr.  Sutphen  ;  at  the 
same  time  he  was  deliberating  on  a  vir- 
tual call  to  the  professorship  of  Pasto- 
ral Theology,  Church  Government,  and 
Homiletics  in  the  Allegheny  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.  The  work  of  teaching 
in  that  department  was  very  attractive  to 
Mr.  Sutphen,  for  which  also  he  w^as 
specially  fitted  by  his  experience  of  pas- 
toral and  pulpit  success  in  two  impor- 
tant churches,  and  by  extensive  reading 
and  study.  The  very  strong  desire  of 
Dr.  McElroy,  his  church  and  session,  to 
retain  him  in  New  York,  and  the   cor- 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  35 

dial  assurances  of  his  usefulness  in  the 
pastoral  work  led  him  at  length  to  re- 
gard it  as  the  Divine  will  that  he  should 
decline  the  proffered  election. 

In  June,  187 1,  Mr.  Sutphen  was 
unanimously  elected  by  the  Trustees  of 
Princeton  Colleo^e  to  receive  the  des^ree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  One  of  the  pro- 
fessors, in  a  letter  of  congratulation, 
says:  "Some  of  our  degrees  are  not 
well  bestowed,  but  there  is  only  one 
opinion  in  reference  to  you."  This  was 
certainly  the  judgment  of  all,  especially 
of  Dr.  Sutphen's  intimate  friends,  who 
knew  how  thorough  as  well  as  exten- 
sive his  Biblical  studies  were. 

In  July,  187 1,  he  was  invited  by  his 
dear  and  valued  friend,  Mr.  Robert 
Carter,  to  join  him  with  his  family 
and  friends  at  South  Egremont,  Mass. 
While  there  he  was  attacked  by  inflam- 


36  MEMORIAL   OF 

matory  rheumatism,  followed  in  August 
by  a  rheumatic  fever  which  prostrated 
him  entirely.  By  mismanagement  of 
his  case  he  was  brought  to  the  very 
gate  of  death,  and  was  supposed  to  be 
dying,  but  "  was  saved  (as  he  writes) 
by  the  skill  and  heroism  of  my  dear 
wife."  Reviving  sufficiently  to  travel, 
Mr.  Carter  strongly  urged  his  trying 
again  a  sea  voyage,  and  sent  to  New 
York  to  have  his  passage  engaged;  but 
his  physicians  discouraged  the  trip,  and 
he  went  instead  to  Clifton  Springs  to 
recruit  his  shattered  health. 

Before  the  rheumatic  fever  came  on. 
Dr.  Sutphen  "  had  three  most  precious 
and  wonderful  visitations  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,"  of  which  he  gives  a  rapid 
sketch.  "First,  the  Lord  seemed  to 
speak  to  me  of  the  matter  of  preaching: 
^  preach   the  preaching   that  I   give  to 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  37 

thee; '  ^  especially  emphasize  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come;'  ^preach  the 
judgment.'  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  was 
like  Jonah,  and  had  on  one  pretext  or 
another  been  disposed  to  run  away  from 
my  work.  Now,  the  Lord  calls  me 
back  to  His  work  of  preaching  a  com- 
ing judgment  to  the  careless,  godless 
city  around  me.  It  seemed  as  though 
the  Lord  suggested  to  me  how  largely 
a  coming  judgment  made  up  the  revela- 
tion in  the  Scriptures,  and  how  greatly 
such  preaching  was  needed  in  this 
materialistic  as^e.  I  can  never  foro^et 
the  power  with  which  this  impression 
came.  The  room  seemed  filled  with 
electric  sparks,  which  shook  and  sw^ept 
and  wrapped  my  body  as  with  a  mighty 
wind.  Never  had  such  an  influence 
passed  over  me.  This  was  so  precious 
and  powerful  that  I  was  compelled  to 


38  MEMORIAL   OF 

say,  ^  Stay  Thy  hand,  O  Lord,  for  my 
soul  can  hold  no  more!'  Then  the  im- 
pression ceased,  and  I  fell  back  into  a 
sweet  repose;  which  however  was  not 
sleep. 

"  I  felt  a  longing  for  the  return  of  the 
heavenly  vision,  and  my  soul  went  up 
to  God  that  He  would  again  visit  me; 
and  this  He  generously  did.  This  sec- 
ond impression  had  reference  to  the 
manner  of  preaching.  ^Preach,'  seemed 
the  voice  to  say,  ^  as  my  prophet,  speak- 
ing in  my  name  and  by  my  authority. 
Challenore  attention  to  the  truth  as  be- 
ing  mine.  Stand  up,  and  as  the  ambas- 
sador of  God  speak.'  This  also  was  so 
powerful  that  again  I  was  forced  to  cry, 
^  Stay  Thy  hand,  O  Lord,  for  I  can  hold 
no  more! ' 

"  And  yet  I  longed  for  further  commu- 
nication; and  so  a  third  time  it  seemed  to 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  39 

come,  and  then  to  speak  of  the  manner 
oi  preparation.  It  seemed  to  say,  ^  Be 
not  ever  poring  downward.  Seek  not 
inspiration  at  the  point  of  your  pen. 
Prepare  with  eye  looking  upward  for 
heavenly  light.  Instead  of  laborious 
framing  and  decorating  of  thoughts,  — 
poor  thoughts,  worried  from  your  brain, 
—  look  out  and  up  by  meditation  and 
reflection  to  God  Himself  As  I  look 
back  on  these  manifestations  and  mer- 
ciful deliverances  from  death,  I  must, 
as  Jacob,  call  the  place  ^  Peniel,'  for  I 
have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my 
life  is  preserved. 

"  On  Sabbath  morning  my  wife  read 
with  inexpressible  new  force  to  me  the 
fifty-first  Psalm.  But  especially  has  the 
one  hundred  and  third  Psalm  come  to 
me  with  power  in  view  of  the  number- 
less mercies  I  have  received  at  the  hand 


40  MEMORIAL   OF 

of  all  these  dear  people  who  have  vied 
w^ith  each  other  in  their  ministries  of 
love.  ^  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and 
all  that  is  v^ithin  me  bless  His  holy- 
name.'  God  draw  me  nearer  and 
nearer  to  His  glorious  Self.  Peniel." 
Dr.  Sutphen  was  physically  unable 
to  preach  until  December  of  187 1.  In 
a  self-humbling  record  of  his  sorrow 
for  sin  at  this  time  he  mentions  "  impru- 
dence in  work.  I  have  been  wont  sim- 
ply to  ask  whether  any  thing  presenting 
itself  before  me  were  possible.  I  have 
overtaxed  my  strength,  and  have  brought 
sickness  upon  me;  which  sin  I  do  con- 
fess and  sincerely  forsake.  I  have 
overworried  as  well  as  overworked.  I 
have  not  taken  God  at  His  word,  as  I 
ought.  I  have  not  been  content  to  do 
what  I  might,  and  then  leave  results  to 
God;  which  also   I  acknowledge  as   a 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.         41 

sin  and  shame,  and  desire  to  renounce. 
And  now,  O  Lord,  I  desire  on  this 
Sabbath  [Dec.  3,  1871]  to  commit  my- 
self anew  to  Thee.  Oh  cut  me  not  ofF 
in  the  midst  of  my  days!  Deal  with 
me  not  after  my  sins!  Spare  me  not  to 
a  life  of  feebleness  and  misery  on  the 
earth!  ^But  oh  forgive  my  sins:  remit 
their  punishment,  if  it  please  Thee! 
Grant  that  this  body,  threatened  lately 
with  death,  and  yet  afflicted  with  dis- 
ease, may  by  the  invigoration  of  Thy 
Spirit  become  once  more  perfect  in 
strength;  and  that  my  mind  and  heart 
and  spirit,  too  sadly  abused,  may  also 
be  replenished  out  of  the  fulness  in 
Thyself!  O  Lord,  I  should  be  ashamed 
to  come  home  to  Thee  with  the  little  I 
have  yet  done  for  Thee!  Oh  renew  my 
life  and  inspire  me  with  Thy  Spirit,  and 
enable    me  to   enter  upon   a   career  of 


42  MEMORIAL   OF 

signal  service  to  Thy  cause!  Oh  grant 
this  for  the  sake  of  Thy  Son!  And  this, 
O  Lord,  I  especially  desire  because  I 
have  now  entered  upon  the  second  half 
of  the  existence  which  is  set  as  the 
limit  of  human  life.  I  am  midway  be- 
tween the  cradle  and  the  grave,  reck- 
oning three-score  years  and  ten  as  the 
term  of  human  existence.  Oh  that  I 
may  enter  on  this  a  new  man,  devoted 
in  bod}',  mind,  soul,  and  spirit  to  God!" 
God  deemed  it  best  not  to  answer 
the  prayer  of  his  servant  as  he  wished. 
He  continued  to  preach  with  difficulty 
until  June,  when  he  with  his  wife  went 
to  Colorado,  where  they  spent  the  sum- 
mer, but  without  any  marked  benefit  to 
his  health.  On  his  return,  after  careful 
examination  of  his  throat,  his  physi- 
cians enjoined  him  to  cease  preaching 
at   once,   and  gave   him  little   hope   of 


MORRIS   CRATER   SUTPHEN.  43 

soon  resuming  his  work.  Deep  as  was 
his  affection  for  his  people,  and  certain 
as  he  was  of  their  sympathy  and  sup- 
port in  this  trying  hour,  he  felt  that 
justice  to  his  church  required  that  he 
should  at  once  resign  his  charge  and 
leave  the  pulpit  for  a  stronger  man. 
His  resignation  was  offered  in  October, 
1872. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Walter 
Carter  shows  the  loving  estimate  of  his 
New  York  pastorate:  — 

"  There  is  so  much  that  I  would  like  to 
write  you  about  dear  Dr.  Sutphen,  that  I 
hardly  know  where  to  begin.  No  human  be- 
ing could  be  long  in  his  company  without 
loving  him  ;  his  kindly  face,  the  index  of  a 
loving  heart,  drew  .all  toward  him.  His 
power  over  the  young  was  a  marked  charac- 
teristic of  his  ministry  among  us  ;  my  own 
children  almost  worshipped  him,  and  his 
influence  for  good  was  visible  in  every  fam- 
ily in  the  congregation. 


44  MEMORIAL   OF 

"  I  have  never  known  his  equal  in  the  vis- 
itation of  the  sick,  and  early  in  his  ministry 
I  had  proof  of  his  power.  At  the  close  of 
a  sultry  Sabbath  in  June,  1866  (the  year  he 
came  to  us),  I  waited  for  him  at  the  close  of 
the  afternoon  service,  and  mentioned  to  him 
that  one  of  our  members  had  met  a  sudden 
and  awful  death  the  day  before,  leaving  a 
large  family  of  young  children  without 
father  or  mother.  Notwithstanding  his  fa- 
tigue, he  walked  a  mile  with  me  to  the  house 
where  the  children  stood  around  their  dead. 
Their  excitement  on  seeing  the  young  min- 
ister was  fearful ;  as  he  spoke  of  their  loss  I 
almost  feared  that  reason  would  lose  its 
throne  with  some  of  them.  With  his  tender 
voice  so  gentle  and  sympathetic,  he  repeated 
the  hymn,  '  O  Thou  that  driest  the  mourn- 
er's tears,'  &c. ;  before  he  had  finished  the 
first  verse  the  room  was  hushed,  the  mourn- 
ers comforted,  and  all  present  fell  under  the 
spell  of  his  loving  heart.  As  a  pastor  I 
have  seldom  seen  his  equal,  especially  at 
the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying.     In  that 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.         45 

most  delicate  of  pastoral  duties,  addresses  at 
funerals,  he  excelled  ;  even  over  the  grave  of 
the  unconverted  he  could  draw  the  appro- 
priate lesson  for  the  living  without  jarring 
the  sensibilities  of  friends.  As  a  preacher 
he  was  earnest,  pungent,  practical ;  a  mas- 
ter of  analysis,  never  forcing  a  text  to  sus- 
tain a  hobby,  but  letting  it  tell  its  great 
truths  in  its  natural  way.  While  he  faith- 
fully presented  the  threatenings  of  God's  law 
and  strove  to  call  the  sinner  to  the  sense  of 
his  danger,  his  delight  was  in  the  Gospels, 
in  the  loving  character  of  his  loving  Lord. 
His  presentation  of  divine  truth  was  fresh, 
original,  and  popular,  and  the  hearers  were 
ever  impressed  with  the  sincerity  of  the 
preacher,  —  that  every  word  uttered  was 
believed  and  felt. 

"But  perhaps  his  social  power  was  his 
most  efficient  agency  for  good ;  all  who  met 
him  loved  him,  and  he  never  lost  a  friend. 
The  glance  of  his  melting  eye,  the  pressure 
of  his  loving  hand,  was,  as  one  of  our  plain 
people  once  said,  'as  good   as    a    sermon.' 


46  MEMORIAL   OF 

In  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  the  largest 
in  the  United  States,  he  was  greatly  esteemed 
and  beloved  by  his  associates ;  his  familiar- 
ity with  the  forms  of  procedure  was  remark- 
able in  one  so  young,  and  while  strength 
remained  he  took  an  active  part  in  all  public 
business.  He  was  a  thorough  business  man 
in  church  affairs,  reducing  all  to  system  and 
order.  He  divided  the  congregation  into 
four  districts,  assigning  two  Elders  to  each 
district,  for  more  intimate  acquaintance  and 
supervision ;  he  added  five  Elders  and  a 
Deacon  to  our  number,  and  not  only  strove 
himself  to  know  all  the  members  of  the 
church  and  congregation,  but  to  have  the 
Elders  and  Deacons  familiar  with  them 
also.  He  presented  most  faithfully  the  va- 
rious schemes  of  the  church  to  his  people, 
and  developed  an  increase  of  liberality  in 
all.  While  exercising  a  large  charity  to  all 
his  neighbors  of  other  creeds,  he  stood 
firmly  up  for  the  doctrine  and  discipline 
of  his  own  church,  and  strove  with  all  his 
might    to    cultivate    among    his    people    a 


AT  ORRIS  CRATER   SUTPHEN.  47 

knowledge  of  and  affection  for  the  faith  of 
their  fathers. 

"  His  heart  was  deeply  stirred  when  he 
first  came  to  our  city  by  the  destitution  all 
around  us,  and  he  endeavored  in  some  meas- 
ure to  supply  this  want  by  a  kind  of  parochial 
system  which  would  make  each  church  re- 
sponsible for  the  region  immediately  around 
it.  In  order  to  jx^ther  in  the  multitude  of 
children  around  us  who  went  to  no  Sabbath- 
school,  and  their  parents  who  went  to  no 
church,  he  organized  a  parochial  mission- 
school  which  should  visit  every  home  by  its 
teachers  and  missionary,  and  get  all  who 
had  no  other  spiritual  home  to  come  to  our 
church  and  Sabbath-school  room  of  the 
church.  This  has  proved  a  great  success, 
not  only  blessing  the  destitute  families 
around  us,  and  giving  all  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  the  Gospel,  but  it  has  proved  a 
blessing  to  the  church  itself,  in  developing 
the  active  missionary  spirit  in  our  young 
people,  and  acting  as  a  natural  feeder  to  the 
church.     But  I  shall  tire  you  in  my  love  for 


48  MEMORIAL    OF 

the  dear  man,  and  must  close.  He  has  been 
called  to  a  higher,  holier  service,  and  he 
was  ripe  for  it;  he  was  too  pure  for  earth, 
and  he  has  left  us  to  follow  and  mourn  his 

loss." 

The  following  letter  from  a  young 
lady  of  his  parish  reveals  better  than 
any  words  of  ours  his  influence  among 
the  3^oung:  — 

"We  young  people  always  called  him 
saintly,  his  life  seemed  so  far  above  the 
plane  of  ours.   ... 

"The  last  Sunday  of  his  work  among 
us  stands  saddest  and  tenderest  in  our  mem- 
ory of  all  the  days  of  his  ministry. 

"It  was  Communion  Sunday,  and,  as  it 
used  to  be,  the  white-draped  tables  were 
spread  down  the  aisle  and  across  the 
church. 

"  It  had  been  a  very  solemn  service,  unusu- 
ally so  ;  for  was  it  not  the  last  time  we  should 
receive  the  consecrated  bread  and  wine  from 
his  hands?     A  strange  quiet  fell  upon  us  as 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  49 

he  arose  to  speak  ;  his  pale  face  was  touched 
with  a  calm,  a  brightness,  which  was  not  of 
earth. 

"He  spoke  of  his  plans,  of  all  he  longed 
so  much  to  do,  of  his  bitter  4isappointment ; 
and  in  faltering  tones  warned  us  that  the 
time  was  short,  —  how  short  we  did  not 
know. 

"  He  addressed  each  class  separately, — the 
aged,  those  in  middle  life,  the  young;  to 
those  who  had  supported  him  in  all,  thank- 
ing them  for  their  kindness  to  him,  and 
asking  their  forgiveness  had  he  ever  caused 
them  pain. 

"^And  now,'  he  said,  glancing  down  the 
long  table,  and  over  the  church,  arresting 
every  eye,  'I  would  speak  to  those  who  have 
been  brought  to  Christ  during  my  ministry, 
my  very  joy  and  crown.^  He  bowed  his 
head,  overcome  by  emotion.  Then  he 
gathered  strength,  and  in  those  low  hoarse 
tones  so  painful  to  listen  to,  he  gave  to  these 
his  parting  charge.  He  urged  them  to  hold 
fast  their  profession  unto  the  end,  watching 
4 


50  MEMORIAL   OF 

unto  prayer,  working  earnestly,  unceasingly, 
for  Christ,  trusting  to  Him  for  each  day's 
strength  until   He  called  them   home. 

"No  one  who  witnessed  that  scene  can  soon 
forget  it.  Strong  men  wept  like  little  chil- 
dren, and  I  am  sure  there  was  not  a  dry  eye 
in  all  the  church. 

"As  I  write,  I  seem  again  to  see  that  saintly 
face,  and  to  hear  his  voice.  We  shall  not 
forget  him  ;  he  speaks  to  us  yet.  We  en- 
deavor to  carry  on  his  work  in  the  school 
he  established  ;  and  at  home,  everywhere, 
we  would  remember  the  motto  he  gave  to 
us  one  summer,  long  ago,  'As  ye  go, 
preach.'  " 

The  follov^ing  sketch  of  his  remarks 
at  the  Communion  Table,  referred  to  in 
the  above  letter,  show  the  depth  of  his 
sorrow  in  the  prospect  of  separation 
from  his  dear  people  and  his  precious 
work:  — 

"My  dear  People,  —  As  you  are  al- 
ready aware,  and   as  you   are  reminded  by 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  5  I 

the  notice  just  read,  this  is  the  last  time  I 
shall  sit  down  with  you  at  this  table  as  your 
pastor.  I  need  not  say  that  this  circum- 
stance is  deeply  affecting  and  afflicting  to 
me.  The  feelings  which  animate  my  heart 
tow^ard  you  are  of  the  tenderest  character. 
You  have  most  kindly  ministered  to  me  and 
mine,  and  in  parting  from  you  I  feel  that  I 
am  parting  from  the  nearest  and  dearest 
friends.  The  older  among  you  have  been 
as  fathers,  and  the  younger  as  brothers. 
And  especially  have  I  found  sympathy  from 
your  venerated  pastor,  between  whom  and 
myself  the  most  affectionate  relations  have 
ever  obtained,  and  who  I  know  is  afflicted 
with  me  in  the  affliction  of  this  hour. 

"  But  I  must  not  allow  these  personalities 
further  to  invade  the  sacredness  of  this  me- 
morial hour.  We  are  here  to  remember 
Jesus.  And  though  it  is  a  dictate  of  love 
to  plead  for  remembrance,  and  though  our 
dear  Divine  Redeemer  himself  begged  his 
disciples  not  to  forget  him,  and  to  this  end 
instituted  this  holy  supper,  —  yet  this  day  I 


52 


MEMORIAL   OF 


call  upon  you  to  remember  Jesus,  no  mat- 
ter what  may  become  of  the  poor  voice 
which  speaks  to  you. 

"I  recall  with  peculiar  happiness  that 
m}^  ministry  among  you  began  at  the  Lord's 
Table,  and  that  it  is  to  end  at  that  table. 
It  began  with  remembrance  of  Christ,  and 
it  ends  with  the  remembrance  of  Christ. 
Alas  that  it  has  not  been  more  full  of  Christ ! 
Alas  that  no  opportunity  is  given  me  to 
supply  the  many  deficiencies  of  which  I  am 
so  painfully  conscious  !  Alas  that  I  cannot 
speak  to  you  once  more  of  the  beauty  and 
goodness  of  this  precious  Saviour !  How 
startling  to  think  that  our  respective  records 
as  pastor  and  people  are  sealed,  —  sealed 
irrevocably  against  the  great  day  of  final 
account !  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  our  ten 
thousand  sins  and  short-comings  !  If  Thou 
should'st  be  strict  to  mark  iniquity,  who 
shall  stand  ? 

"  And  now  it  is  only  left  to  me  to  ask 
you  to  recall  the  poor  words  I  have  uttered 
while  among  you.     If  I  have   ever  spoken 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  53 

any  thing  of  the  infinite  preciousness  of  the 
Saviour,  or  of  the  all  importance  of  the 
great  salvation,  or  of  the  transcendent  in- 
terests of  the  vast  eternity  so  near,  which 
has  moved  your  heart,  believe  me  that 
now  I  would  that  I  could  intensify  such 
utterance  ten  thousand  times.  My  heart 
has  almost  burst  with  longing  to  plead  with 
you  once  more  as  the  ambassador  of  God. 
Methinks  that,  almost  as  one  escaped  from 
the  other  w^orld,  I  should  press  the  high 
realities  of  eternity  upon  you. 

"Finally,  my  brethren,  the  time  is  short. 
Oh  does  not  God  with  singular  impressive- 
ness  illustrate  this  truth  for  us  to-day? 
Like  a  thunderbolt  out  of  a  cloudless  sky 
this  dispensation  has  fallen  on  me.  Stand- 
ing here  in  the  midst  of  my  unfinished 
schemes  and  unaccomplished  enterprises, 
unable  to  preach  even  a  farewell  sermon,  is 
not  my  very  presence  a  call  of  God  to  you 
to  do  with  your  might  whatsoever  your 
hand  finds  to  do?  You  who  are  God's 
people,  hasten  your  complete  sanctification 
in  Christ.     Attain  at  once  fulness  of  stature 


54 


MEMORIAL   OF 


in  him  who  is  the  head.  Forget  those 
things  which  are  behind,  and  reach  forth 
unto  those  things  which  are  before.  You 
who  under  my  ministry  have  confessed 
Christ,  my  very  joy  and  crown,  stand  fast 
in  the  Lord  beloved.  Fight  manfully  the 
good  fight  of  faith  ;  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 
You  who  are  parents,  agonize  for  your  chil- 
dren yet  unsaved,  until  Christ  be  formed  in 
them  the  hope  of  glory.  You  who  are  still 
without,  once  more  I  plead  with  you  by  the 
tender  mercies  of  God,  by  the  infinite  love 
of  Christ,  by  the  all-gracious  wooing  of  the 
Spirit,  by  the  tremendous  realities  of  eter- 
nity, flee,  flee  at  once,  with  all  dispatch  — 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  !  Make  sure, 
oh  make  stire^  of  eternal  life  ! 

"  And  now  may  the  God  of  all  grace,  who 
has  called  us  to  his  eternal  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus,  after  we  have  suffered  awhile,  stab- 
lish,  strengthen,  settle  us,  and  at  last  gather 
us  all  from  these  scenes  of  trial  and  conflict 
into  the  Church  triumphant,  where  our  com- 
munion and  joy  will  be  perfected  for  ever ! 
Oh  let  us  ever  keep  the  eye  of  faith  directed 


MORJ^IS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  55 

upward  and  heavenward  !  Oh  let  us  never 
amid  the  joys  or  sorrows  of  life  forget  the 
glory  that  remaineth  !  Oh  let  us  so  live  that 
v^hatever  separations  may  come  in  time,  we 
may  all,  all  meet  at  last  in  our  Father's 
house,  to  go  no  more  out  for  ever  !  Amen, 
and  amen." 

"  Preamble  and  resolutions  adopted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian Church,  held  Oct.  28,  1872,  for 
the  purpose  of  uniting  with  Dr.  Sutphen  in 
an  application  to  Presbytery  for  relief  from 
his  pastoral  charge  :  — 

"'Whereas  it  has  pleased  our  Heavenly 
Father  to  afflict  our  beloved  pastor,  Dr.  Sut- 
phen, with  partial  loss  of  voice,  unfitting  him 
for  his  pulpit  duties,  and  rendering  his  res- 
ignation necessary  : 

^^^  Resolved^  That  we  deeply  regret  the 
necessity  for  this  separation,  recognizing  in 
Dr.  Sutphen  the  able  scholar,  the  earnest 
and  faithful  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and 
the  loving  pastor  and  friend  of  every  mem- 


56  MEMORIAL   OF 

ber  of  his  flock.  We  gratefully  acknowl- 
edge his  tender  ministry  of  love  among  the 
sick  and  the  dying,  his  sympathy  for  the 
bereaved  in  the  house  of  mourning,  and  his 
unflagging  interest  in  the  children  of  the 
Church,  and  of  our  mission  schools.  He 
carries  with  him  the  warm  affection  of  this 
people,  and  of  the  community  among  whom 
he  has  so  faithfully  labored  for  the  last  six 
years  ;  and  we  earnestly  pray  that  he  may 
speedily  be  restored  to  health,  and  to  the 
work  he  so  fervently  loves. 

^^^ Resolved,  That  as  a  token  of  our  affec- 
tionate regard  for  him,  and  for  his  estimable 
family,  we  appoint  Messrs.  A.  R.  Walsh, 
Robert  Carter,  and  James  Miller  a  com- 
mittee to  raise  a  memorial  free-will  offering 
to  present  to  our  beloved  pastor.' " 

These  resolutions  were  no  empty  for- 
mality. The  feeling  of  sympathy  with 
Dr.  Sutphen  in  his  affliction,  and  of 
sorrow  in  view  of  their  own  loss,  took 
shape  in  a  handsome  and  generous  pro- 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  57 

vision  for  his  family,  by  which  he  was 
relieved  of  all  anxiety  about  his  im- 
mediate support,  and  enabled  to  travel 
in  pursuit  of  health  and  strength.  In 
November  of  the  same  year  he  sailed 
for  Nassau,  and  spent  the  winter  in  a 
tropical  climate ;  returning  North  in 
the  spring  of  1873,  by  easy  stages 
through  Jacksonville,  Florida,  and 
Aiken,  South  Carolina.  His  health, 
though  not  established,  was  greatly 
benefited  by  his  residence  in  the 
Bahamas.  His  voice  grew  stronger, 
and  he  increased  in  flesh.  His  whole 
correspondence  with  his  family  and 
friends  shows  an  ardent  desire  and  con- 
fident anticipation  of  a  return  to  work, 
coupled  with  a  sweet  submission  to 
God's  will.  A  few  extracts  from  let- 
ters to  his  wife  will  reveal  his  Christian 
temper  under  his  trials  :  — 


58  MEMORIAL   OF 

"I  begin  to  think  about  the  future.  Let 
us  henceforth  with  more  specialty  pray  for 
a  place  and  post  of  usefulness.  I  desire  at 
least  to  be  willing  to  abide  God's  will.  Oh 
to  be  swallowed  up  in  Him ;  to  place 
uppermost  His  glory !  Then  all  must  be 
well." 

"To-day  has  been  one  of  great  spiritual 
refreshment  to  me.  It  was  communion  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  I  was  enabled 
with  new  consecration  to  lay  myself  on  the 
altar,  and  was  made  to  long  greatly  to  re- 
engage in  some  way  and  place  in  the  Mas- 
ter's service.  I  long  to  return  to  the  pulpit. 
I  feel  I  have  never  preached.  The  Lord 
appoint  us  a  ministry  in  w^hich  we  may  sin- 
gularly glorify  Him  !  To  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  I  have  been  pre-eminently  con- 
secrated, and  to  that  I  desire,  if  it  be  God's 
will,  to  return." 

"  I  have  souo-ht  anew  cjuidance  for  our 
dear  people,  that  they  may  speedily  and 
safely  choose  one  worthy  to  lead  them 
through  the  wilderness.     And  for  that,  how 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  59 

much  more  important  piety  is  than  is  usu- 
ally assumed !  Moses  had  no  preaching 
power.  He  was  not  half  so  popular  a 
speaker  as  Aaron.  But  how  much  more 
important  to  Israel  was  Moses'  power  in 
prayer  than  Aaron's  power  in  preaching  ! 
Paul  was  in  presence  mean  and  in  speech 
contemptible,  and  yet  who  in  the  apostolic 
college  compares  with  him  ?  Oh  that,  if  I 
am  again  permitted  to  enter  the  pulpit,  I  may 
earnestly  cultivate  the  power  of  speaking  to 
God  as  well  as  that  of  speaking  to  man  ! " 

"  I  have  more  than  ever  lately  had  motions 
of  the  Spirit  to  prayer,  invitations  as  it  were 
to  plead  with  God.  Glimpses  of  truth, 
higher  truth,  loftier  meanings  of  the  Script- 
ures, have  also  flashed  on  me ;  but  I  have 
been  compelled  rather  to  lay  them  aside  as 
germs  to  be  developed  in  the  future  than  to 
prosecute  them  now,  when  all  the  resources 
of  my  system  need  to  be  concentrated  on  my 
restoration  to  physical  health.  Now,  'first 
that  which  is  carnal.'  I  bless  God  that 
the  winter  of  death  is  coming,  and  that  we 


6o  MEMORIAL   OF 

cannot  renew  our  3^outh  in  such  a  disjointed 
world  as  this ;  though  I  feel  if  any  one  has 
reason  to  celebrate  the  goodness  of  God  in 
his  experiences,  I  am  he ;  and  if  any  one 
ought  to  long  to  live  alway,  I  am  he.  Only 
goodness  and  mercy  have  crowned  my  path, 
and  yet  I  cannot  but  think  of  the  richer, 
higher,  nobler  life  beyond." 

"There  is  one  experience  at  least  mine, 
—  more  and  more  dissatisfaction  with  the 
vanities  of  earth,  more  and  more  longing 
for  the  fulness  of  Christ.  Oh  that  I  might 
be  willing  in  the  day  of  God's  power,  will- 
ing to  welcome  Him  with  all  the  spiritual 
good  He  so  graciously  offers  !  I  desire  that 
we  make  this  anew  our  motto,  'For  me  to 
live  is  Christ.'  Oh  to  reproduce  in  walk 
and  conversation  the  man  Christ  Jesus  !  " 

"  What  a  blessed  thought  that  the  Being 
who  has  the  boundaries  of  our  habitations 
as  well  as  the  limits  of  our  lives  in  His 
hands  is  our  Father,  and  loves  us  as  ten- 
derly as  we  love  our  children,  and  will  dis- 
pose our  lot  with  infinite  wisdom  and  love  ! 
Let  us  implicitly  trust  Him." 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  6 1 

"  I  feel  unceasingly  desirous  to  subordi- 
nate all  selfish  ambition  to  His  supreme 
glory.  Character,  inward  and  eternal  ex- 
cellence, grow  hourly  in  their  hold  on  my 
admiration,  and  I  desire  that  we  put  them 
above  all  things  else." 

"Humility,  genuine  humility, — this  is 
my  great  need.  Help  me.  Lord,  to  believe 
that  if  I  really  surrender  self,  and  trust  in 
Thee,  I  shall  have  all  needful  good." 

" '  Friend  of  God,'  —  let  this  be  our  motto 
as  we  move  once  more  our  camp,  or  as  we 
take  a  new  departure.  Oh,  let  me  as  never 
before  seek  to  please  God  !  If  God  is  my 
friend,  then  what  can  I  want,  or  what  can 
I  fear?" 

"  I  have  been  impressed  much  with  this 
phrase:  *The  beauty  of  holiness.*  How 
supremely  beautiful  true  holiness  is  !  Not  a 
strict,  straight-laced,  long-faced  Pharisaism, 
but  such  real  holiness  as  shone  forth  in 
Jesus.  His  life,  his  words,  his  acts,  how 
wondrously  beautiful!  —  and  because  they 
were  perfectly  holy.     And  a  truly  holy  per- 


62  MEMORIAL    OF 

son,  how  lovely  he  is  ;  the  very  face  shines  ! 
The  brave  stand  for  principle  is  made  with  a 
meekness  and  consideration  which  compel 
admiration." 

"The  hardest  obstacle  to  be  overcome  in 
my  pursuit  of  health  is  the  longing  to  return 
home.  But  by  God's  grace  I  shall  hold  on 
and  hold  out  undl  I  am  permitted  to  present 
myself  again  sound  in  body.  But  I  don't  go 
about  moping.  I  am  on  principle  and  on 
purpose  happy  as  the  day  is  long.  I  know 
that  a  merry  heart  doeth  good  like  a  medi- 
cine, and  so  I  am  merry.  I  go  and  roll  the 
burden  of  my  loved  ones  on  the  heart  of 
Jesus,  and  then  take  the  bliss  out  of  every 
thing." 

Dr.  Sutphen  reached  Fordham,  N.Y., 
his  famil37's  temporary  abode,  on  May 
22j  1873.  A  few  days  afterwards  the 
reunited  happy  household  moved  to 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  where  Dr.  Sutphen 
spent  a  pleasant  summer.  In  the  fall,  a 
persistent  influenza  and  the  renewal  of 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  63 


sore  throat  reminded  him  of  the  neces- 
sity of  seeking  once  more  a  winter  resi- 
dence in  the  South.  Having  received 
an  earnest  solicitation  to  supply  the 
pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  he  reached  that  place 
with  his  family,  on  Nov.  12,  1873. 
Not  without  occasional  trouble  in  his 
throat,  and  fears  for  the  issue  of  the  ex- 
periment of  preaching,  he  served  with 
his  accustomed  fidelity  and  success  the 
people  of  Jacksonville  during  the  winter 
and  early  spring.  As  usual,  he  won  all 
hearts  by  his  urbane  deportment,  Chris- 
tian zeal,  and  faithful  preaching;  as  the 
following^  from  the  conorreoration  when 
he  left,  and  the  extracts  from  letters  re- 
ceived after  his  death,  will  testify  :  — 

'•Jacksonville,  April  21,  1S74. 
"  It  is  with  deep  regret  that  we  hear  of 
your  recent  decision  to  leave  us.     We  had 


64  MEMORIAL   OF 

hoped  that  a  few  weeks'  rest  might  again 
restore  your  voice  ;  but  for  the  present  at 
least  we  must  forego  the  pleasure  and  profit 
of  your  ministry  among  us.  We  can  assure 
you  that  this  ministry  has  been  very  accept- 
able to  us  all ;  your  kind  words,  earnest 
prayers,  and  Christian  example  have  greatly 
endeared  you  to  us.  But  while  we  cannot 
fathom  the  mystery  of  the  way  in  which 
God  moves,  we  can  learn  a  lesson  of  sub- 
mission to  His  divine  will,  which  you  so 
well  exemplify,  and  which  we  shall  not 
forget.  We  thank  you  for  your  encour- 
aging words  for  our  future,  for  your  counsel 
and  care,  and  for  your  parting  blessing ; 
and  we  are  confident  that  the  good  seed 
sown  in  your  brief  stay  with  us  will  bring 
forth  fruit  meet  for  eternal  life." 

A  friend  writes,  — 

"This  sweet  Sabbath  morning  brings  the 
dear  departed  one  very  vividly  before  me, 
as  I  picture  him  the  first  time  I  saw  him  in 
our  pulpit.     I  can  almost  hear  the  words  of 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  65 

his  first  text,  '  Who  is  he  that  overcometh 
the  world,  but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God?  '  This  faith  he  spoke  of  as 
a  world-conquering,  soul-saving  power,  and 
the  illumination  of  his  countenance  seemed 
almost  heavenly.  How  mysterious  that  one 
so  useful,  so  beloved,  so  essential  to  his 
family  and  to  the  church  should  be  thus 
early  taken  !  We  can  only  say  it  is  the  will 
of  God." 

From  another, — 

"  Here  in  our  little  church  his  memory  is 
very  dear :  we  are  happy  to  have  known 
him.  The  few  months  of  his  stay  here  were 
a  blessing  to  the  church,  and  we  have 
needed  him  since :  we  have  had  troubles 
through  which  he  would  have  guided  us 
safely.     But  the  Lord  knoweth  best." 

It    had   long   been    surmised    by    his 

friends   that  he    would    not  be  able  to 

enter    the    pastoral    office    again.     The 

more   sanguine  among  them,  however, 

5 


66  MEMORIAL   OF 

hoped  he  Vv^ould  be  able  to  teach  in  - 
some  department  of  college  or  semi- 
nary studies;  and  their  influence,  to- 
gether with  his  increasing  reputation 
for  scholarship,  opened  many  doors  of 
usefulness  in  prospect.  We  have  seen 
that  his  services  were  in  great  demand 
among  the  churches.  Besides  these, 
he  was  in  request  for  many  posts  of 
honor  and  trust.  In  1869,  he  was  urged 
to  write  a  commentary  on  the  Epistles 
to  the  Corinthians,  by  the  editor  of  an 
expository  series.  In  187 1,  he  was 
informally  asked  to  take  the  chair  of 
Rhetoric  in  Princeton  College.  In  1873, 
when  it  seemed  as  if  years  of  usefulness 
were  before  him,  he  received  offers  in 
rapid  succession  of  eminent  positions. 
He  was  asked  to  become  President  of 
a  Female  College  at  Pittsburg;  to  take 
the  chair  of  Rhetoric  in  Wooster  Uni- 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  67 

versity;  to  become  Principal  of  Blair 
Hall,  New  Jersey;  to  accept  the  Presi- 
dency of  Wilson  Female  College;  to 
become  Principal  of  the  Princeton  Pre- 
paratory School;  to  become  President 
of  a  College  at  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa;  to 
become  President  of  Rutgers  Female 
College,  New  York;  and  to  be  the 
agent  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Education  in  the  collection  of  funds 
wherewith  to  pay  its  debt.  All  these 
offers  he  was  compelled  to  decline, 
even  when  he  was  thirsting  for  work, 
because  he  feared  to  test  his  streno^th 
in  heavy  responsibilities.  At  the  same 
time,  letters  written  by  him  and  written 
to  him  when  recruiting  in  the  Bahamas 
make  it  evident  that  he,  and  distin- 
guished friends  who  knew  his  scholar- 
ship, hoped  the  day  would  come  when 
his  health  would  warrant  his  accepting 


68  MEMORIAL   OF 

some  chair  of  Greek,  or  Hebrew,  or 
Homiletics  in  one  of  the  seminaries  of 
the  Church. 

He  left  Jacksonville  in  April,  and, 
after  spending  a  few  weeks  in  Savan- 
nah, reached  New  York  in  the  latter 
part  of  May.  By  a  severe  cold  con- 
tracted on  the  passage  he  entirely  lost 
the  use  of  his  voice,  which  he  never 
regained.  This  was  an  additional  trial, 
not  only  depriving  him  from  engaging 
in  lengthened  conversation  with  friends, 
but  also  closing  the  door  to  almost 
every  kind  of  work.  June  4,  1874,  we 
find  the  following  record  in  his  diary: 

"  Dr.  Loomis  told  me  to-day  that 
Professor  Elsberg  finds  by  the  laryngi- 
scope  that  something  is  growing  at  the 
upper  part  of  my  larynx.  My  heart 
quite  failed  me  at  this;  it  would  seem 
to   portend    a  long  career  of  suffering. 


MORRIS    CRATER  SUTPHEN.         69 

and  to  clash  all  my  hopes  of  ever  again 
being  able  to   enter  the  ministry.     But 
these  things  comfort  me:    (i)  Nothing 
can  come  on  me  but  what  my  Father 
permits;    and    He    has    promised    that 
nothing  shall  befall  me  but  what  is  for 
my  good,  yea,  highest  good.      (2)  My 
Saviour  has   promised   to  go   with   me 
through  my  trial,  yea,  even  to  the  end. 
Then,  ^  though  I  pass  through  the  valley 
of  the   shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no 
evil.'     (3)    God  is  able  to  deliver  me 
from  this  disease  by  the  direct  exercise 
of  His  almighty  power.      (4)  God  may 
be  moved  to  this  immediate  and  direct 
deliverance  by  my  prayer,   if  importu- 
nate.     (5)  God  may  interpose  directly 
in  the  way  oi  sttggestion  to  me  or  to  my 
doctor  of  what  to  do  in  order  to  a  cure. 
(6)  God  may  interpose  directly  in  en- 
ablinor  me  to  do  what  I  see  will  tend  to 


70  MEMORIAL    OF 

my  healing.  (7)  God  may  exert  His 
almighty  power  without  the  interven- 
tion of  means,  as  Christ  healed  when 
on  earth." 

June  18-20,  1874:  "Rev.  Mr.  Erd- 
man,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cochran,  have  each 
proffered  their  parsonages  to  me  for  the 
summer.  How  kind  !  How  like  the 
Master  !  (i)  In  these  proffers  I  find 
evidence  that  God  is  graciously  leading 
us.  And  how  tenderly!  ^  Like  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  Him.'  (2)  So  it 
has  been  all  through  my  sickness ;  mercy 
has  followed  mercy,  so  that  while  I 
sing  of  judgment  I  can  also  sing  of 
mercy.  (3)  The  Lord  has  made  plain 
the  way.  The  stepping-stones  have 
been  very  apparent.  He  showed  the 
way  to  Florida,  and  now^  points  to  Mor- 
ristown.      (4)  Ought  we  not  implicitly 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  71 

to  trust  Him?  He  that  has  not  failed 
in  six  troubles  will  not  fail  in  seven." 
For  several  reasons  he  felt  it  best  to 
accept  the  use  of  Rev.  Mr.  Erdman's 
parsonage,  and  passed  a  summer  of 
comparative   comfort. 

In  August,  1874,  he  reveals  his  feel- 
ings in  these  words:  "It  is  now  nearly 
two  years  that  I  have  been  without  a 
charge,  and  have  been  drifting  about, 
not  knowing  what  the  future  has  in 
store  for  me.  It  is  more  than  two  years 
since  I  was  overtaken  by  the  severe 
sickness  from  which  I  am  still  suffer- 
ing. But  though  the  way  has  been  so 
long  and  weary,  ,and  the  future  is  yet 
so  uncertain,  I  have  been  kept  wonder- 
fully free  from  anxiety.  At  times  so 
unnatural  have  this  quiet  and  calm 
seemed,  that  I  have  queried  whether 
it  were  a  healthful  feeling.     But  I  have 


72  MEMORIAL   OF 

been  led  to  see  in  it  the  fulfilment  of 
the  Scripture,  '  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in 
perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on 
Thee.'  My  wife  and  I  have  been  ena- 
bled as  never  before  to  cast  ourselves 
on  God,  and  He  has  not  failed  or  for- 
saken us,  but  has  redeemed  all  His 
promises.  What  has  been  our  special 
support  has  been  the  word  of  Scripture. 
We  have  for  some  time  been  wont  to 
select  a  golden  verse  from  the  chapter 
read  for  special  meditation." 

In  the  fall.  Providence  opened  an- 
other home.  Mrs.  Edgar  F.  Randolph, 
of  Morristown,  ■  had  taken  a  deep  in- 
terest in  his  welfare,  and  had  put  her 
beautiful  home  at  his  disposal,  while 
she  was  absent  for  months.  For  this, 
and  for  various  kindnesses  from  others, 
his  gratitude  was  touching  in  expres- 
sion, as    it   was    heartfelt    in    sincerity. 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.         73 

Here  he  enjoyed  the  many  home-com- 
forts of  which  he  had  been  long  de- 
privedj  and  would  often  exclaim,  "Oh 
what  mercies,  what  mercies!  How 
good  the  Lord  is ! "  H^e  was  now  a 
permanent  invalid,  and  could  only  hope 
for  recovery  at  the  end  of  protracted 
suffering  at  the  best,  and  was  compelled 
to  face  death  as  its  probable  issue. 
During  all  the  year  preceding  his  death, 
he  was  an  admirable  illustration  of 
Paul's  state  of  mind  when  he  was  "  in 
a  strait  betwixt  two ; "  for  he  had  a 
desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ, 
and  felt  it  to  be  far  better;  nevertheless, 
to  abide  in  the  flesh  he  felt  w^as  more 
needful  for  his  work,  his  family,  his 
plans.  Few  men  have  combined  with 
a  ready  willingness  to  die  at  any  mo- 
ment a  more  earnest  desire  to  live  for 
the  sake  of  his  vocation,  and  to  work 


74  MEMORIAL    OF 

while  he  lived.  He  used  with  assiduity 
the  means  of  recovery.  He  watched 
his  symptoms;  he  studied  the  effect  of 
his  medicines,  and  the  influence  of  at- 
mospheric changes;  he  did  whatever 
promoted  his  cure,  and  avoided  what- 
ever retarded  recovery.  This  manful 
struggle  for  life,  protracted  to  his  last 
hour,  in  his  case  was  consistent  with 
patience  in  suffering,  submission  to 
God's  will,  and  a  bright  anticipation  of 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  as 
the  King's  highway  into  heaven. 

His  active  mind  refused  the  repose 
and  ennui  which  belong  to  the  invalid. 
During  this  last  3^ear  he  engaged  him- 
self in  two  enterprises;  one  was  the 
drawing  of  plans  and  making  arrange- 
ments for  building  a  house,  which 
should  be  his  family's  permanent  resi- 
dence    after    his     death.      It    seemed 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  75 

strange  to  friends  that  a  dying  man 
should  be  so  thouixhtful  and  careful  in 
the  smallest  details  of  plans,  all  of 
which  were  drawn  by  his  own  hand, 
and  constantly  altered  and  amended 
with  reference  to  completeness  and 
convenience  of  structure.  In  inter- 
views with  his  builder,  it  seemed  as  it 
he  thought  only  of  a  home  in  this 
world;  but  as  soon  as  these  interviews 
were  over,  his  thoughts  recurred  at 
once  to  the  house  not  made  with  hands, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  He 
said  to  his  family  on  the  day  of  his 
death,  "I've  made  arrangements  to  pro- 
vide for  you  a  house,  but  I'm  going  to 
a  mansion."  He  felt  the  importance  of 
anchoring  wife  and  children  in  a  home; 
and  it  is  due  to  his  forecast  and  affec- 
tion that  they  occupy  to-day  a  comfort- 
able and  pleasant  house  in   Morristown, 


76  MEMORIAL    OF 

every  part  of  which  testifies  to  his  archi- 
tectural skill  and  self-denying  care. 

His  other  project  in  the  last  months 
of  his  life  was  that  of  a  new  family 
Bible,  and  was  one  that  fairly  aroused 
his  enthusiasm.  Writing  to  a  friend  in 
February,  1875,  ^^  says:  "I  am  work- 
ing about  three  hours  a  day  on  my 
book,  and  it  is  an  exceeding  joy  to  me. 
My  only  trouble  is  that  it  is  too  absorb- 
ing. If  it  never  sees  the  light,  it  will 
at  least  have  lig^htened  the  darkness  of 
this  winter  to  me.  I  am  up  and  down 
as  usual,  experiencing  a  sort  of  living 
death,  or  dying  life.  I  feel  like  one 
escaped  from  the  coffin,  or  hiding  away 
from  death,  and  in  my  hiding-place 
anxiously  trying  to  finish  what  my 
heart  burns  to  accomplish."  Viewing 
with  disapprobation  the  mutilation  of 
the  Bible  in  similar  works,  he  arranged 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  ^^ 

with  great  labor  for  the  reading  of  the 
entire  Scriptures  within  the  year.  Hav- 
ing made  the  proper  divisions  for  this 
end,  he  designed  to  accompany  each 
with  a  Biblical,  Critical,  and  Practical 
Commentary,  and  also  with  appropriate 
prayers  and  hymns;  the  whole  to  be 
adapted  to  the  use  of  Christians,  in 
their  family  worship  and  closet  duties. 
For  this  work  he  was  la3nng  under  con- 
tribution the  commentaries  of  all  kinds, 
the  prayers  of  all  ages,  and  the  hymns 
which  had  become  household  words 
in  the  family  of  God.  In  looking  over 
the  scheme  of  his  work,  and  the  mate- 
rials he  had  gathered  for  its  execution, 
instead  of  asking  the  melanchol}^  ques- 
tion, "Wherefore  is  this  waste?"  we 
are  disposed  to  thank  God  that  His  ser- 
vant in  the  last  months  of  his  life  had 
so    much    spiritual    delight    in    a    fresh 


78  MEMORIAL   OF 

Study  of  the  Bible,  so  much  communion 
with  the  saints  of  all  ages,  in  their 
prayers   and  songs   of  praise. 

The  spring  of  1870  came  on  with 
song  of  birds,  and  wealth  of  vernal 
green,  and  flush  of  flowers.  It  was 
greeted  by  Dr.  Sutphen  with  a  revived 
and  intense  enjoyment  of  the  beautiful 
in  Nature.  Long  would  he  gaze  at  the 
landscape,  picking  out  its  beauties,  and 
letting  his  imagination  fairly  revel  in 
the  grace  of  trees,  and  mountains,  and 
meadows.  More  than  ever  he  talked  to 
his  wife  of  the  glories  of  this  world,  as 
he  was  ripening  for  the  glories  of  an- 
other; murmuring  now  and  again,  "I 
will  rejoice  in  the  works  of  Thy 
hands."  In  May,  the  death  of  a  be- 
loved sister,  and  the  anxiety  to  live  un- 
til the  birth  of  an  expected  child,  had 
a   depressing    eflect    on    his     condition. 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  79 

and  brought  him  to  the  very  edge  of 
the  grave.  In  this  emergency  his  wife 
rose  to  unusual  fervency  of  prayer  and 
strength  of  faith,  which  God  regarded; 
and  his  life  was  spared  to  welcome  the 
child  to  the  beginning  of  a  race  which 
he  himself  had  almost  run. 

From  this  time  his  sufferings  in- 
creased, and  continued  with  little  relief 
or  intermission.  He  expressed  no  wish 
to  be  restored,  but  waited  on  God's  will 
without  a  murmur,  though  it  was  evi- 
dent his  unfinished  plans  were  rarely 
out  of  mind.  "  It  seems  hard,"  he  said, 
not  long  before  the  end,  "  that  so  man}^ 
who  have  finished  their  work  should  be 
spared,  whilst  I  have  so  much  work 
laid  out."  In  all  his  sufferings  he  en- 
dured as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible: 
"  how  much  more,"  said  he,  "  did  Jesus 
suffer   for  me!"      His  gratitude  to  his 


So  MEMORIAL   OF 

wife  and  mother,  and  others  who  exer- 
cised the  usual  ministry  of  love  in  his 
sick-room,  was  unbounded,  every  atten- 
tion receiving  his  loving  recognition. 
"  You  do  it  for  the  Saviour's  sake,"  he 
said,  when  receiving  a  kindness. 

His  energy  even  at  this  late  stage  of 
his  disease  was  remarkable.  He  rose 
every  morning  with  his  family,  and, 
although  obliged  to  lie  down  many 
times  during  the  day,  was  only  con- 
fined to  his  bed  the  three  days  pre- 
ceding his  death. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th  of  June,  the 
shadows  began  to  deepen.  To  a  friend 
who  called  he  said,  ^^  I  am  too  tired  to 
talk  to  you,  but  you  know  how  I  love 
you."  On  Thursday  morning  after  a 
very  wakeful  night,  he  asked  his  faith- 
ful physician,  "How  long  can  I  live.^" 
The  answer  was,  "  Perhaps  twenty-four 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  8  I 

hours."  Without  any  signs  of  agitation 
he  asked  to  see  the  children  at  once. 
They  were  brought  in  one  by  one;  and 
to  each  he  gave  appropriate  counsel,  and 
to  all  words  of  blessing  and  love.  The 
servants  were  not  forgotten,  but  received 
a  dying  man's  counsel  for  godly  living. 
Nor  would  he  be  satisfied  until  he  saw 
the  builder  of  his  projected  house,  and 
gave  his  last  directions  in  regard  to 
some  feature  of  its  construction.  Then, 
when  his  conscience  had  discharged  its 
last  duties  pertaining  to  this  world,  he 
called  for  the  singing  of  hymns  and  the 
reading  of  the  Word.  "  Rock  of  Ages, 
cleft  for  me,"  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul," 
"Jerusalem,  my  happy  home,"  "  He 
leadeth  me,  O  blessed  thought,"  were 
the  hymns  sung  from  full  hearts  in  the 
holy  hush  of  the  chamber  of  death.  His 
father-in-law,  who  had  been  summoned, 
6 


82  MEMORIAL    OF 

baptized  the  babe  in  the  name  of  Him 
who  took  little  children  in  his  arms. 
When  asked  what  petition  should  be 
offered  for  himself,  Dr.  Sutphen  replied, 
"  Ask  that  I  may  have  an  abundant 
entrance  into  heaven." 

The  hours  wore  on  towards  midnight. 
At  eleven  o'clock,  the  hour  for  taking 
his  medicine,  his  wife  feared  to  disturb 
him  by  giving  it;  when  his  old  faith  in 
God's  power  flashed  out  once  more  into 
the  words,  "  But  it  isn't  right  to  stop  a 
moment:  we  don't  any  of  us  know  what 
the  Lord  ca7i  do  yet.  But  do  not  think 
I  am  not  willing  to  go." 

One  petition  had  for  years  recurred 
again  and  again  in  the  public  and  family 
prayers  of  Dr.  Sutphen.  It  was,  "Give 
us,  O  Lord,  a  quiet  hour  in  which  to  die." 
This  prayer  was  answered.  The  hush 
of  midniofht  was  over  the  town.     His 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  83 

household  —  all  except  her  who  had 
promised  to  be  his  loving  companion 
until  death  should  part  them,  and  his  de- 
voted mother  —  were  taking  rest,  when 
their  watchful  eyes  caught  the  pallor  of 
death;  and,  summoning  the  two  eldest 
children,  they  alone  in  the  awful  silence 
of  the  midnight  hour,  which  only  death 
can  deepen,  saw  him  gently  pass  away 
until  he  was  not,  for  God  had  taken  him. 
He  died  on  Friday,  June  18,  1875; 
and  on  the  following  Tuesday,  June  22, 
the  funeral  services  were  attended  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Morristown,  — 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  New  York, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  Addison  Henry,  of 
Philadelphia,  addressing  the  friends, 
clerical  and  lay,  who  had  come  from  all 
quarters  to  honor  the  dead. 

"  What  did  we  ask,  with  all  our  love  for  him, 
But  just  a  little  breath  of  fuller  life 
To  float  the  laboring  lunors  ?     And  God  hath  given 


84 


MEMORIAL   OF 


Him  life  itself,  full,  everlasting  life  ! 
What  did  we  pray  for  ?     Rest  even  for  a  night, 
That  he  might  rise  with  sleep's  most  golden  dew 
Refreshed  to  feel  the  morning  in  his  soul : 
And  God  hath  given  him  his  eternal  rest. 
We  could  not  offer  freedom  for  one  hour 
From  that  dread  weight  of  weariness  they  bear 
Who  try  for  years  to  shake  death's  shadow  off: 
And  God  hath  made  him  free  for  evermore  ! 

*'  Before  me  hangs  his  picture  on  the  wall. 
Alive  still  with  the  loving  cordial  eyes. 
How  tenderly  their  winsome  lustre  laughed  ! 
The  fine  pale  face,  pathetically  sweet. 
So  thin  with  suffering  that  it  seemed  a  soul,  — 
We  feared  the  angels  might  be  kissing  it 
Too  often  or  too  wooingly  for  us  ; 
The  hands,  so  woman-white  and  dehcate, 
That  day  by  day  were  gliding  from  our  grasp. 
They  used  to  make  my  heart  ache  many  a  time. 

'■'■  I  see  another  picture  now ;  the  form 
Ye  sowed  in  weakness  hath  been  raised  in  power, 
A  pleasure-palace  for  a  prison  of  pain  ! 
The  beauty  of  his  nature  that  we  felt 
Is  featured  in  the  shape  he  weareth  now  ; 
The  same  kind  face,  but  changed  and  glorified, 
From  life's  unclouded  summit  it  looks  back 
And  sweetly  smiles  at  all  the  sorrows  past, 
With  such  a  look  as  taketh  away  grief,  — 
No  longer  pale,  and  there  is  no  more  pain. 
His  face  is  rosed  with  heaven's  immortal  bloom, 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  85 

For  he  hath  found  the  land  of  health  at  last, 
The  one  Physician  who  can  cure  all  ills  ; 
And  he  hath  eaten  of  the  Tree  of  Life 
And  felt  the  eternal  spring." 

So  lived,  and  so  died,  a  man  whose 
life  was  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  and 
whose  death  was  a  sleeping  in  Jesus. 

The  features  of  his  character  are  por- 
trayed in  the  record  of  his  daily  living. 
As  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  he  emu- 
lated the  whole-heartedness  of  Caleb, 
and  followed  the  Lord  implicitl}^  and 
without  compromise.  He  believed  like 
a  child,  and  his  faith  constantly  ap- 
peared in  his  absolute  submission  to 
God's  word,  and  in  his  abiding  confi- 
dence in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  All 
parts  of  the  Bible  were  equally  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  to  Dr.  Sutphen; 
and  he  himself  wrote,  "We  should 
want  to  hear  all  the  words  which  our 
gracious  Father  has  deigned  to  write  to 


86  MEMORIAL   OF 

US."  Prayer  was  a  favorite  topic  in  his 
preaching,  because  he  knew  it  Scriptur- 
ally  and  experimentally  as  power  with 
God,  the  Hearer  and  Answerer  of 
prayer.  Prayer  swept  the  field  of  his 
whole  experience  in  life,  and  he  looked 
to  God  for  gifts  to  mind,  body,  and  es- 
tate, as  well  as  for  grace  to  his  soul. 
Writing  to  Rev.  William  Scribner  with 
reference  to  a  change  of  plan  in  the 
structure  of  his  "  Family  Bible  "  he  says : 
"  If,  last  summer,  I  had  fallen  on  this 
plan,  I  could  have  saved  the  work  of 
the  fall.  The  Lord  could  have  shown 
it  to  me  then.  If  I  had  prayed  more 
for  light,  light  might  then  have  been 
given.  Verily,  ^  bene  precasse  est  bene 
studuisse.'  Since  this  experience,  I 
have  been  very  anxious  to  have  full 
Divine  direction  for  every  step.  To  be 
kept  from  profitless  —  and,  worse  than 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  Sj 

profitless,  erroneous  —  work,  all  the  way 
I  need  constant  illumination.  And  this 
leads  me  to  ask  for  your  continued  in- 
tercession, my  dear  brother."  This  last 
sentence  discloses  another  feature  of  his 
Christian  character,  —  his  faith  in  inter- 
cessory prayer.  He  received  much 
comfort  from  the  prayers  of  his  friends 
in  his  behalf,  and  loved  himself  to  plead 
their  names  and  needs  at  a  throne  of 
grace.  The  true  answer  to  the  question, 
"Where  is  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah?" 
he  said,  was  another  question,  "Where 
is  the  Elijah  ? "  Given  the  spirit  and 
power  of  Elijah,  and  the  God  of  Elijah 
would  manifest  His  arm  of  strength. 
A  friend  who  was  with  him  in  Massa- 
chusetts when  he  was  hanging  between 
life  and  death,  by  reason  of  rheumatic 
fever,  writes :  "  I  shall  not  soon  forget 
how  earnestly  he  spoke  of  the  comfort- 


88  MEMORIAL   OF 

ing  vision  of  himself  which  God. had 
given  him  in  that  hour.  He  talked  as 
if  he  had  been  on  the  mountain-top, 
instead  of  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death." 

He  had  learned  the  value  of  routine 
in  his  closet  duties  as  well  as  of  system 
in  his  studies.  The  hour  appointed  for 
secret  devotion  found  him  at  a  throne 
of  grace,  before  the  open  Word,  and 
searching  his  own  heart.  This  very 
rigidness  of  plan  in  his  piety  made  him 
lay  stress  on  the  value  of  ejaculatory 
prayer  and  occasional  petitions,  in  sup- 
port of  which  he  preached  an  earnest 
sermon,  and  which  he  exemplified  in 
his  practice. 

Giving,  as  a  privilege  and  part  of 
Christian  worship,  was  his  constant 
habit  during  all  his  ministry.  One- 
tenth,  at  least,  of  his  income  was  con- 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  89 

secratecl  gladly  and  solemnly  to  the 
Lord's  work;  and  his  unusual  success 
in  enlarging  the  contributions  of  his 
churches  was  due  in  part  to  his  teach- 
ing on  the  subject  of  giving,  as  a  grace 
and  a  means  of  grace,  and  partly  to  the 
efficacy  of  his  own  example. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Robert 
Carter,  among  other  things,  illustrates 
this  point  in  his  character:  — 

"  I  need  not  speak  of  Dr.  Sutphen's  pul- 
pit labors.  These  were  known  to  all  who 
had  the  privilege  of  sitting  under  his  minis- 
try. In  the  division  of  his  subject  he  was 
remarkably  happy,  and  had  great  facility 
in  makinij  his  meaninix  understood.  Earn- 
est  and  affectionate,  plain  and  simple,  he 
carried  his  audience  easily  with  him.  He 
had  a  gift  possessed  by  few  of  arousing  his 
people  to  give  and  to  work  in  the  Master's 
cause.  Though  our  number  was  not  so 
great    as    in    some    earlier    periods    of    our 


90  MEMORIAL   OF 

church's  history,  we  never  gave  so  much 
nor  worked  so  hard  as  during  his  stay 
among  us.  And  this  was  owing  largely 
to  his  transparent  loving  spirit,  which  said 
to  us,  '  Come  let  tis  work  to-day  in  the 
vineyard.' 

"  In  his  intercourse  from  house  to  house 
there  was  a  charm  that  made  him  every- 
where a  welcome  visitor.  Among  my  chil- 
dren I  have  seen  him  fairly  bubble  over 
with  wit  and  humor. 

"  'A  merrier  man  within  the  h'mits  of  becoming  mirth 
I  never  had  an  hour's  talk  withal.' 

He  enjoyed  truly  the  ^  feast  of  reason  and 
the  flow  of  soul.'  But  it  was  by  the  bed- 
side of  the  sick  and  dying  that  his  excel- 
lence was  most  conspicuous.  His  tender- 
ness, his  childlike  simplicity,  his  warm- 
hearted prayers,  and  his  wise  counsels 
carried  captive  the  hearts  of  the  suffering. 

"  But  our  bright  and  loving  pastor  was 
not  to  be  long  with  us.  A  worm  was  gnaw- 
ing at  the  root,  and  the  fair  and  fruitful  tree 
was  early  laid  low.     His  meek  and  patient 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.  91 

spirit  under  suffering  gave  strong  evidence  of 
the  faith  and  love  which  had  been  so  richly 
given  to  him.  His  yearnings  over  his  du- 
tiful wife  and  helpless  children  were  truly 
touching.  While  he  carefully  provided  for 
them  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  he  lovingly 
committed  them  to  the  Husband  of  the 
widow  and  the  Father  of  the  fatherless. 
And    God  is  truey 

Dr.  Sutphen  felt  the  need  as  a  Chris- 
tian not  only  of  the  means  of  grace,  "the 
Word,  the  Sacraments,  and  prayer," 
but  also  of  constant  self-examination, 
a  watchful  eye  on  his  outward  life,  and 
a  monitor  upon  his  lips.  He  reviewed 
the  work  and  words  of  each  day,  and 
brought  every  thing  to  the  line  and 
plummet  of  God's  will.  Constantly  in 
his  meagre  diary,  if  he  has  time  to  write 
nothing  else,  there  appear  the  words, 
"  Lord,  what  hast  Thou  found  in  me 
to-day.^"  —  sometimes  coupled  with  the 


92  MEMORIAL    OF 

answer,  "Alas,  How  much  sin  and  in- 
firmity! "  No  wonder  he  grew  in  grace, 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  his  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  Dr. 
Sutphen  won  success  in  the  only  way 
any  worthy  success  can  be  reached,  — 
he  lived  near  to  Christ,  he  loved  souls, 
he  worked  hard  in  the  field,  and  hard  in 
the  study;  and  he  prayed  in  faith.  As 
a  preacher  he  was  always  respectable, 
and  at  times  very  admirable.  His  ser- 
mons were  exegetic  of  the  text  and 
context,  rich  in  instruction,  full  of 
points  logically  arranged,  warm  with 
persuasive  eloquence  and  unction;  and, 
aided  b}^  his  earnest  delivery  and  saintly 
presence,  they  always  made  a  deep  im- 
pression, and  sometimes  melted  and 
moved  his  audience  to  an  unusual 
degree. 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.  93 

As  a  pastor  Dr.  Sutphen  was  pre- 
eminent. He  loved  and  cared  for  each 
and  all  of  his  people.  He  had  the  gen- 
ius of  sympathy,  and  its  treasures  were 
lavished  without  respect  of  persons. 
His  words  were  a  benediction  of  peace, 
a  blessing  of  comfort  to  the  sick,  the 
troubled,  the  dying,  the  bereaved.  "  At 
the  communion-table,"  writes  Mr.  Peter 
Carter,  of  New  York,  "he  always  ap- 
peared to  the  greatest  advantage.  There 
was  such  tenderness  in  his  tones,  such 
admirable  taste  in  all  his  illustrations, 
a  mind  so  attuned  to  the  whole  service, 
that  these  occasions  are  very  delight- 
ful in  the  remembrance."  As  late  as 
June,  1875,  Mr.  Walter  Carter  writes 
to  Dr.  Sutphen:  "The  return  of  our 
Communion  Season  (to-morrow)  brings 
you  always  vividly  to  remembrance. 
We  will  remember  you  and  yours  as 


94  MEMORIAL   OF 

we  present  our  requests  to  our  beloved 
Master  at  His  table.  How  many  happy 
seasons  we  have  had  together  of  that 
kind  in  days  gone  by!  " 

The  children  of  the  church  were 
greatly  attached  to  Dr.  Sutphen,  —  his 
winning  smile,  his  gentle  manners,  his 
affectionate  nature,  easily  gathering  the 
little  ones  about  him.  He  often  gave 
crumbs  from  the  Masters  table  for  their 
enjoyment  and  profit,  and  sometimes 
spread  it  solely  in  their  interest.  He 
was  especially  fond  of  sowing  seeds  of 
truth  in  the  Parochial  Mission-school, 
and  found  his  greatest  delight  in  reap- 
ing in  that  virgin  soil;  for  the  sowing 
and  the  harvest  went  on  together  in  that 
field  of  toil  and  reward.*  To  all  and 
with  all,  young  and  old,  rich  and   poor, 

*  "That  was  a  good  work,  — your  starting  the  Im- 
manuel  Sunday-school,"  writes  Mr.  Walter  Carter  to 
him  ;  "souls  have  been  saved  there." 


MORRIS   CRATER  SUTPHEN.         95 

he  was  always  the  pastor.  He  magni- 
fied his  office  by  never  abdicating  it; 
and  though  he  sometimes  wore  an  un- 
dress uniform,  and  never  assumed  an 
official  tone  or  an  ecclesiastical  man- 
ner, he  knew  how  to  impart  a  sugges- 
tive flavor  of  the  Master's  business  to 
all   his   conduct  in  every  company. 

In  scholarship,  he  cared  more  for 
depth  and  thoroughness  than  for  exten- 
sive excursions  in  the  fields  of  knowl- 
edge. He  was  apt  to  choose  one  or 
two  great  masters  in  the  departments 
to  which  he  confined  his  studies,  and 
read  them  constantly.  Their  depth  be- 
came his.  As  already  intimated,  his 
favorite  branches  were  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  Theolog}-,  Homiletics,  and  espe- 
cially Exegesis,  his  fondness  for  which 
amounted  to  a  hobby.  He  rarely  met 
a  ministerial  brother  without  forcing  a 


96  MEMORIAL   OF 

comparison  of  views  as  to  the  meaning 
of  some  passage  of  Scripture;  and  if  he 
gained  new  light,  out  of  his  pocket  he 
took  one  of  the  many  note-books  which 
he  filled  with  explanatory  comments, 
together  with  homiletical  hints  for  ser- 
mons, and  every  worthy  suggestion 
would  be  carefully  written  down.  "  His 
mind,"  says  one  who  knew  him  well, 
"  seemed  stronger  to  me  on  the  side  of 
the  acquisitive  and  reasoning  powers 
than  in  the  imaginative  or  creative  fac- 
ulty." There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
had  acquired  an  amount  of  thorough 
knowledge,  both  of  "  principles  and 
practice,"  in  the  departments  of  Homi- 
letics  and  Exegesis  of  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  sufficient  to  have  made  him 
an  admirable  professor  of  those  subjects 
in  any  of  our  Theological  Seminaries. 
Whilst    Dr.    Sutphen    expended    his 


MORRIS   CRATER   SUTPHEN.  97 

main  strength  on  such  subjects,  it  may 
be  truly  said  of  him  that  nothing  which 
belonged   to    man  was   foreign  to   him. 
He  both  understood  and  was  interested 
in  the  movements  of  Church  and  State 
and  society,  in  the  Old  World  and  the 
New.     He  showed    the    concern    of  a 
man's  heart  in  the  affairs  of  men.     And 
ever}^  thing  which  he  observed  among 
the  children  of  Adam  was  related  in  his 
mind  to  the  second  Adam,  whose  king- 
dom Cometh  not  with  observation.    The 
field  was  the  world,  and  all   its  forces 
in  all  their   contests  were  ever   present 
to  his  mind,  as  working  out  the  will  of 
Him  whose  right  it  is  to  reign.     His 
mind    kindled   and  his   tongue   became 
eloquent  in  the  discussion  of  some  ques- 
tion of  public    concern,    involving    the 
morals   of  the  people   or  the   safety  of 
7 


98  MEMORIAL   OF 

the  State.  During  the  late  War  his 
whole  heart  was  enlisted  in  the  work 
of  the  Christian  Commission;  and  not 
only  was  his  voice  often  heard  on  the 
platform  in  its  behalf,  but  with  other 
Philadelphia  ministers  he  went  to  the 
battle-field  of  Gettysburg  to  care  for  the 
sick  and  wounded.  He  used  his  time 
as  one  that  must  give  an  account,  and 
filled  its  hours  not  with  "  laborious 
trifling,"  but  with  toil  that  pertained  to 
his  life-work,  and  could  be  made  avail- 
able for  that  at  all  times.  The  thought 
of  souls  perishing,  souls  to  be  saved  in 
his  congregation  and  among  "  the  out- 
lying masses,"  determined  the  nature 
and  amount  of  his  studies;  and  the 
culture  of  mind  and  heart  was  at  once 
devoted  to  the  out-door  work  of  the 
pastor.     By  his  brethren  in  the  ministry 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.         99 

he  was  truly  beloved,  and  he  greatly  en- 
joyed meeting  those  in  New  York  with 
whom  he  was  associated  in  the  two 
societies  of  which  he  was  a  member, — 
"  Sigma  Chi,"  and  "  Chi  Alpha."  For 
the  latter,  just  before  his  sickness,  he 
wrote  an  article  on  the  "Antiquity  of 
Man,"  which  was  very  favorably  re- 
ceived by  the  members,  and  afterwards 
printed  in  the  "  American  Presbyterian 
Review." 

In  the  family-circle  our  dear  brother 
was  at  once  the  most  loving  and  the 
best  beloved.  God  gave  him  a  wife 
with  whom  he  was  indeed  "  one  flesh." 
God  gave  him  six  children,  whom  he 
counted  his  dearest  earthly  treasures. 
Into  the  sacred  precincts  of  his  home 
we  can  take  the  merest  glimpse,  for 
silence  is  often  most  golden  when  one 


lOO  MEMORIAL  OF 

could  say  the  most.  Here,  too,  he  was 
not  merely  the  affectionate  and  wise 
father  and  tender  husband,  the  dutiful 
son  and  affectionate  brother,  but  also 
the  Christian  minister  and  pastor.  He 
read  the  Scriptures  systematically  in 
the  family  as  in  the  study.  Whilst 
faithful  in  giving  instruction  in  the  let- 
ter, he  daily  prayed  with  his  children 
that  they  might  find  Christ  when  they 
searched  the  Scriptures.  In  allusion 
to  the  "children's  hour,"  he  writes: 
"  Read  ^  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  ' 
to  the  children.  Willie,'  I  think,  now 
begins  to  understand  how  Christ  justi- 
fies the  ungodly,  or  the  philosophy  of 
the  plan  of  salvation.  Never  myself 
enjoyed  Bunyan  more.  May  my  chil- 
dren have  a  proper  sense  of  sin,  and 
a    proper    view    of  the    Saviour."     On 


MORRIS   CRATER   SUTPHEN.        lOI 

another  occasion  he  writes:  "I  must 
pray  for  each  of  the  members  of  my 
family  by  name."  When  absent  in 
Bermuda,  he  writes:  "How  hard  these 
separations  are!  Blessed  be  God  they 
are  hard;  and  may  they  ever  grow 
harder!  Oh,  how  inexpressibly  , sweet 
is  the  spirit  of  that  dear  wife  and  those 
dear  children  which  now  speaks  to  my 
heart!  Like  the  dew  on  flowers  do 
your  loving  voices  fall  on  my  inward, 
ear."  At  home,  when  once  sick  and 
burdened,  he  wrote:  "Felt  downcast, 
but  found  comfort  in  reading  the  Bible 
to  my  children.  Let  me  always  do  this 
hereafter."  He  is  always  thinking  what 
will  profit  his  children ;  as,  for  example, 
after  a  discussion  on  popular  amuse- 
ments with  some  gentleman-in  Bermuda, 
he  sits  down  and  writes  home  for  their 


I02  MEMORIAL   OF 

benefit  as  follows:  "I  think  these  prin- 
ciples the  right  ones:    (i)    that  I  as  a 
parent  am  in  the  place  of  Christ.     Be- 
cause he  cannot  come  down  to  earth  to 
train  my  child,  he  intrusts  that  care  to 
my    hands.      I   am    bound    to    train    it 
therefore  as  Christ  would  train  it.     In 
every  case  of  doubtful  amusement,  my 
duty    and    my   rule    should   be,  ^  What 
would     Christ    do?'      (2)    In    case     of 
amusements  not  sinful  per  se,  I  should 
have    my    children    avoid   those   which 
Satan    has    throughout   the    ages    suc- 
ceeded in  managing  and  monopolizing 
in  his  interest.     Thus,  though  the  vision 
of  a  moral  theatre  has  floated  before  the 
minds  of  men  for  centuries,  and  though 
the  scenic  representation  of  truth  is  not 
inherently    evil,  yet  as  the  theatre  has 
ever  been  practically  and  irredeemably 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.        1 03 

in  the  hands  of  Satan,  I  should  avoid  it 
for  myself  and  children.  (3)  The  best 
plan  to  follow  with  children  is  to  pre- 
occupy mind  and  heart  with  higher 
and  nobler  pleasures.  Tares  cannot 
do  much  on  ground  on  which  wheat  is 
vigorously  growing.  Truth  will  keep 
out  error,  and  so  will  good,  evil.  And 
more,  we  must  impress  on  our  children 
at  the  earliest  years  that  ^  life  is  real,  life 
is  earnest; '  that  pleasure  is  not  the  high- 
est thing,  but  duty.  And  this  we  must 
show  them  in  sweet  lovely  lives,  like 
that  of  our  blessed  Master.  Oh  the  ra- 
diance of  that  perfect  life !  —  the  beauty 
of  holiness.  True  holiness,  as  shown 
in  Jesus,  is  infinitely  beautiful.  And 
withal  we  must  earnestly  ask  the  help 
of  Heaven.  We  must  enlist  God  on 
our  side  and  beseech  Him  to  make  our 


104 


MEMORIAL   OF 


children  lovers  of  Him  rather  than  lov- 
ers of  pleasure."  He  adds  this  to  his 
wife:  "Lest,  however,  you  might  pos- 
sibl}^  fancy  that  I  intended  you  to  take 
these  suggestions  to  yourself,  I  will  add 
that  it  has  been  my  joy  and  rejoicing, 
while  sitting  here,  that  we  are  so  entirely 
sympathetic  on  this  point,  as  on  every 
other.  Our  spirits,  like  kindred  drops, 
melt  into  one  on  every  subject.  You 
are  not  another,  but  my  other  and 
better  self" 

Many  of  his  letters  from  Bermuda 
are  written  to  his  children,  and  not 
only  show  his  concern  for  their  mental 
and  religious  improvement,  but  also 
overflow  with  tenderness  and  gleam 
^Yith  humor.  After  some  sage  advice 
or  graphic  description  is  apt  to  come 
the  phrase,  ^^  Now  for  a  little  fun;  "  and 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.       105 

the  earnest  minister  and  faithful  father 
would  reveal  the  child-nature  which 
he  never  lost,  and  which  made  him  a 
delight  to  the  children  even  through 
all  his  suffering.  True,  this  playful- 
ness was  part  of  his  nature;  and  yet  he 
brought  this  as  every  thing  else  into  the 
field  of  duty,  and  under  the  training 
of  grace.  Once  he  wrote,  when  sick 
and  burdened  with  unusual  cares  in 
his  ministry,  "  I  find  it  so  hard  to  re- 
joice ;  but  rejoice  I  must  :  this  is  a 
commandment  P 

One  of  his  resolutions,  early  made, 
was  this :  "  Resolved^  that  I  will  ask 
myself  every  evening,  ^What  has  God 
found  in  me  to-day?'  —  remembering 
that  he  is  proving  me."  In  God's  sight 
he  ever  took  the  attitude  of  the  publi- 
can, described  himself  as  a  sinner,  and 


I06  MEMORIAL   OF 

asked  for  mercy.  Before  men  he  was 
gentle,  humble,  teachable,  a  pleasant 
companion,  frank  and  honorable. 

And  what  were  his  faults?  Writes  a 
friend  who  knew  him  well,  "  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  noticed  his  failings  more 
attentively  and  felt  them  more  keenly 
than  any  one  else."  The  suggestion  of 
fault  attaches  perhaps  to  two  marked 
traits  of  Dr.  Sutphen's  character.  He 
was  ambitious;  and  yet,  as  judges  the 
friend  already  cited,  "  It  was  no  mere  sel- 
fish ambition.  He  desired  success  for 
the  sake  of-his  family  whom  he  tenderly 
loved,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  Master 
to  whom  he  consecrated  all  his  gifts." 
And,  for  the  sake  of  finishing  a  work 
or  project  undertaken,  he  would  strain 
his  mind  and  risk  his  health  unduly;  so 
that  success  was  sometimes  won  at  the 


MORRIS  CRATER  SUTPHEN.       1 07 

cost  of  labor  which  impaired  his  strength. 
Another  trait  was  also  a  "  virtue  in  ex- 
cess." His  thorough  amiability,  his  con- 
stant desire  to  please  by  saying  kind 
things,  amounted  sometimes  almost  to  a 
fault.  Whatever  spots,  however,  may 
have  been  on  the  sun  of  the  bright  char- 
acter we  have  been  describing,  we 
may  adopt  the  words  of  one  of  his  New 
York  Elders,  Mr.  A.  R.  Walsh,  and 
say,  "  Would  there  were  many,  many 
more  like  Morris  Sutphen  ;  and  that 
all  God's  children  were  as  devoted  to 
His  service!  " 

It  was  his  frequent  prayer,  "  Give  me, 
O  God,  gifts,  but  rather  give  me  grace!  " 
The  prayer  was  answered.  God  gave 
him  gifts  in  his  person,  his  mind,  his 
heart,  —  gifts  of  wisdom,  learning,  tact, 
executive  power;  and  the}^  were  all  laid 


I08       MORRIS   CRATER   SUTPHEN. 

upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  And  God 
gave  him  grace,  —  the  grace  of  faith 
and  love  and  charity;  the  grace  of  a 
holy  life  and  a  peaceful  death. 

Thanks  be  unto  God  for  such  lives, 
for  such  deaths  ! 

Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and  washed 
us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood,  and 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  His  Father,  —  unto  Him  be 
glor}^  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever! 
Amen. 


Cambridge :    Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


